


Lucky Thirteen

by mynameisrae



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, Love, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rescue Missions, Self-Discovery, Strong Female Characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:30:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 55,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15981851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynameisrae/pseuds/mynameisrae
Summary: Set after Avengers: AOU and not following into CA:CW. Being a spy wasn't easy, but it was the life Sharon Carter loved. After a mission goes horribly wrong, she feels lost and broken.  She never imagined the incident would bring Steve Rogers back into her life.  Her world flips as feelings blossom during one of the hardest times of her life.  She never imagined she would question her life as a spy and go on a journey of love, loss, and self-discovery.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

It had been almost four months since the fight against Ultron. Steve was finally settled into the new Avengers headquarters and was impressed with the progress the facility was making. He was loving the training program him, Natasha, and Sam had created and implemented for the new recruits. He was proud of what they were able to rebuild in such a short amount of time, of course, it helped that Stark popped by every once in a while to teach everyone about the new and improved technology. Stark also took it upon himself to make some adjustments to various equipment, artillery, and uniforms. Hawkeye frequently visited and gave training in archery while catching up with Natasha and keeping her updated on her favorite kiddos. Banner was still in the wind and Thor stopped by whenever he felt like it, ruining a new patch of lawn every time he did.

Steve focused back on the road in front of him as he took the familiar turn toward his old apartment in D.C. He had visited after he was released from the hospital after the takedown of S.H.I.E.L.D. and spent the day cleaning up his destroyed apartment with Sam, but had left the majority of his personal things behind. He moved some of his things to Stark Tower for a while until the new Avengers building was built and a room made for him. His lease was up however on his apartment and this was his last chance to finish collecting his things. 

He pulled up to the front of the building and stared up at it. It felt weird yet comforting to come back to his first home since awakening in a different time period. He made his way up the stairs of the building and stopped when he came to his landing. He stared at the door of his neighbor. His mind flashed back to all the times he had caught her in the hallway. Her colorful scrubs, her wavy blond hair, the small smile and polite hello she would give. 

He frowned thinking of her bursting into his apartment, announcing she was Agent 13 and that she was charged to watch him. His mind then wandered to that day in S.H.I.E.L.D., he had snapped at her; ‘neighbor’. He was ashamed at how rude he had been that day, but he was hurt, confused, and on a mission. She had lied to him and that was something he had a hard time getting over, but then again, Natasha had asked him to do her a favor. The favor of calling ‘that nurse’. Sharon, as she corrected him. He remembered smirking at her request because even though he had been furious at finding out he was her watch, he couldn’t help but remember their light flirting in the hallway, the softness of her voice, or just how incredibly beautiful she was.

Steve moved quietly to her door, standing close and listening for any sign of Agent 13 being home. His ears were met with silence. He shook his head. She probably didn’t live there anymore, why would she when he wasn’t her charge anymore? The last time he had seen her, he was sitting with Fury. Steve had been relaying his failure at tracking down Bucky when there was a knock at the door. Steve was puzzled. Fury, Natasha, and him were in a small apartment that Fury was using as a small base. Fury moved toward the door and peeked through the peephole. He quickly unbolted the locks and stepped aside to let them in. 

“Early, as usual.” Fury commented.

“The best Agent I know taught me to always be early.” Steve sat up straight at the voice. He looked around the computer he was using to see Agent 13, Sharon, entering the apartment. She wasn’t in the business attire he last saw her in or the scrubs he was used to when she was his neighbor. Today her hair was tied back in a neat high bun, not a wisp out of place. She was wearing a tight black tank top and pair of black pants that fit like a glove. He couldn’t help but stare at her toned figure. She glanced his way and he saw a flash of surprise cross her face before she turned back to Fury and shook his hand. “It’s good to see you… alive, sir.” Steve blushed and looked back at the computer. Some gentleman he was.

“Yes, well, hell wasn’t quite ready for me yet.” He joked. “Steve, Natasha, Sharon and I have some business to discuss, if you’ll excuse us.” He said before leading Sharon down the small hallway and into the bedroom turned into office.

Steve continued to stare at the office door. “I’m guessing you never did that favor by the way you two just acknowledged each other.” Natasha’s voice snapped him back to reality.

“I… no, I didn’t.” Was all he said, trying to refocus on the computer in front of them.

“She’s still single.” She was smiling at the computer. “And still not a nurse or S.H.I.E.L.D. She’s CIA now.”

“What’s she doing here if she’s CIA?” Steve glanced back at the closed door.

“Why are you so curious?” She nudged him with her elbow. He glared at her. “She was more important to S.H.I.E.L.D. than you know Cap, it was a huge hit to her when it went down.” He glanced at the door again, wondering even more what they were talking about. “Fury has some debriefing to do and some loose ends to tie up. Sharon knows a lot about the inner workings of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury needs to make sure that information is going to stay out of the CIA.”

“What more can they learn that wasn’t in your data dump?” Natasha stopped typing to look at him. 

“Let’s just say Sharon is a bit of a keeper of secrets when it comes to the inner workings and beginning of S.H.I.E.L.D. She has information that only exists either in her head or in the files that she was entrusted and since she is with the CIA, Fury either wants to make an alliance with her or make sure she isn’t telling secrets. My guess is the latter since her and Fury go way back.” Steve frowned at this. He did not like the sound of more secrets.

“You’re being vague.” He stated simply.

Natasha resumed her typing. “You should call her sometime then maybe it won’t be such a secret.” Steve decided not to continue the conversation and went back to the task at hand for the next half an hour. 

The door down the hall opened and Fury and Sharon stepped out smiling. They stopped at the front door and shook hands, Fury bringing it up to kiss it lightly. Steve stared openly, he had never seen Fury do that.

“Thank you for coming Agent.” Fury said politely as he opened the door for her. “Tell your Aunt hello for me.” 

‘Her Aunt?’ Steve wondered. How did Fury know her Aunt?

“I will.” She smiled brightly at him. She turned toward him and Natasha. “Agent Romanoff.” She nodded in Nat’s direction.

“Sharon.” Nat said with a smile. 

Sharon’s eyes shifted to him. “Captain Rogers.” She said formally. 

“Agent.” He said back, sounding a little more cold than he meant. Sharon’s eyes lingered on him a moment longer before nodding her head and stepping out the door. 

“Call her.” Nat said firmly.

Steve shook his head, clearing his mind of that last memory. He moved to his apartment door, unlocked it, and went inside. Everything was how he left it months ago. Boxes scattered across the apartment, some of them full and ready to be taken, others open with items spilling out. He sighed before deciding to start in his bedroom. He had cleared out all his dishes and kitchen necessities the last time he was here as well as all his major furniture. All he had left was to pack up the rest of his clothes and personal affects he didn’t already donate. He moved to his closet and began pulling shirts from the hangers, folding them, and setting them in an available box. He stopped mid-fold when he heard footsteps in the apartment next to his. Was Sharon home or was it a new tenant? The footsteps were moving quick and heavy around the apartment. 

Steve shook his head and continued pulling clothes from his closet. He froze when he heard a small crash from the next apartment. He stood still, listening intently. The footsteps continued as well as a louder crash. Steve dropped the shirt in his hands, grabbed his shield and hurried to the neighboring apartment. Steve tried the door, locked. Another crash sounded and Steve threw his shoulder into the door, knocking it off the frame. A tall figure froze at the intrusion before pulling out a gun. Steve reacted on instinct and threw his shield forward, knocking them off their feet before they could shoot. Steve moved over the unconscious intruder. They were wearing an all black uniform with a mask. He checked his person and found two knives which Steve threw across the room along with the gun. He froze when he noticed a small symbol on the collar of the man’s uniform. Hydra.

Steve reached for his phone, but it rang before he had it out of his pocket. 

“Natasha.”

“Steve, where are you?” She asked quickly. He glanced around the apartment, noticing that it was, in fact, still Sharon’s apartment. He recognized it from the few times he caught a glimpse in passing. 

“I’m in Sharon’s apartment, I just took out a Hydra agent.” He said as he started to look around the apartment. All the lights were off and it looked as if the intruder trying to find something. “She’s not here.” He could hear Natasha giving orders on the other line of the phone.

“Steve, a team is headed your way.” 

“Nat, something is off here.” He moved toward the kitchen, looking into the sink and then into the dishwasher. He ran a hand over the top of the counter and frowned at the layer of dust he found. “The apartment is clean. As in, it doesn’t seem like she’s has been here for a long time.” He checked the fridge to find it empty. A small dose of fear started to well up inside him. Every time he had caught a glimpse of her apartment, it was clean minus a few small things: blanket carelessly thrown over her couch, a laundry basket sitting by the door, an unusual amount of mugs littering her counters and coffee table. He remembered he commented on it once, making her smile and admit her love of tea that she acquired from her aunt.

“Everything is in place. No dishes in the sink or dishwasher and no food in the fridge. No one has been here for at least a month.” He moved back toward the man on the floor, checking that he was still unconscious.  
“Steve-“

“What is a Hydra agent doing in Sharon’s apartment?” He cut her off.

“Steve, we’ll talk later about this, there was an attack tonight.” 

“Where, I’ll suit up.” 

“No Steve-“ She stopped suddenly. He heard doors slam and people running up the stairs. Steve braced himself for an attack, but relaxed when Natasha came through the door with four other people. She hung up the phone in her hand. “Steve.” 

“How did you get here so fast?” He asked as the agents went straight for the unconscious man and examined the apartment.

“We’ve been keeping tabs on both of your apartments, making sure something like this didn’t happen. Steve.” She said firmly, causing him to stop and focus. Steve searched her face. He had never seen her look so lost for words and… sad? 

“The attack tonight… Steve, it’s Peggy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Steve didn’t wait for Natasha to give him details. He grabbed his shield, got in his car, and drove. All he could think about was Peggy. Defenseless and sick Peggy. He made it to her nursing home in record time, throwing the car into park and jumping out. Agents were outside the facility and Steve was surprised to see Barton on the roof, surveying the area. Barton gave him a small nod that Steve returned as he quickly ran up the walk and into the building. He headed down the hallway toward her suite. Different agents were stationed along the hallway and he noticed the staff were on on edge. No other patrons were lingering in the hallway like usual, they must have all been sent to their suites. He stopped outside Peggy’s open door, he could see the window in the living room was shattered. A body was on the floor, covered and unmoving.

“Cap.” Fury was standing in the shadow of the kitchenette.

“Peggy. Is she?” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words he feared most.

“She’s fine. A little shook up, but fine.” Fury assured him. Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “There’s a few things we need to talk about before you go see her.” Steve nodded. “Captain, the attack tonight-“

“Steve?” Steve’s ears perked at the sound of Peggy’s voice. He brushed past Fury, cutting him off and heading toward Peggy’s room.

“Captain. Captain.” Fury called after him. “Steve.” Steve stopped just before the doorway. “Only positive talk to her. She’s panicked enough.” Steve nodded and entered the room. Peggy was sitting up in bed, her nurse beside her, checking her vitals.

“Steve.” She smiled at him. “I’m safe now.”

“You’re always safe with me Peg.” He smiled back at her as he sat down in the chair next to her bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Just a little frazzled. I haven’t had this much excitement since I retired.” She joked. Steve smiled. It was a good day for her despite everything that was happening. “I’m so glad you came.”

“I’ll always come when you need me. You are my best girl.” He squeezed her hand lightly. She smiled wide, but it quickly faded. Steve watched as the light went out of her eyes and fear suddenly filled them. She held his hand tighter.

“Peggy?” He asked tentatively.

“Steve. She’s gone.” She was panicking. “They have her. They took her Steve.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Steve went speechless for a moment. Was she having an episode? “They took her.”

“Nurse.” Steve called out. Peggy was crying now. “Peggy. Peggy, who did they take?”

“You have to get her back Steve. You have to find her.” She was in hysterics now. Steve had never seen her like this and it scared him. The nurse reappeared suddenly and Fury appeared in the doorway for a moment, indicating he’d be waiting for Steve when he was done.

“Ms. Carter, you need to relax. I’m going to give you something to help you calm down and sleep.” The nurse grabbed a small needle from the supplies she had set out on the table next to the bed. She brought it to the IV in Peggy’s hand and injected it.

“Find her Steve. Please.” Steve brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.

“Anything for my best girl.” He watched as she visibly relaxed and small smile came over her lips.

“Stay with me till I fall asleep?” She asked softly. Steve nodded and before he could repeat his last sentence again she had already closed her eyes. He continued to watch her for a few minutes before he set her hand down lightly, tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and headed to the kitchenette where Fury was waiting for him. He silently followed Fury into the hallway and to the small library near Peggy’s room. Steve sat down at one of the tables across from Fury and silently took the cup of coffee he offered.

“What’s going on?” Steve finally asked.

“Hydra took control of Peggy’s television about an hour ago and showed her a video of her grand niece that they have abducted and are holding hostage. Moments after the broadcast an operative came through the living room window, hoping to terrorize Ms. Carter and gain information on S.H.I.E.L.D. They didn’t get too far though. Ms. Carter’s nurse is an agent and shot the man down before he could take three steps. I called in my most trusted agents and asked Barton to take watch for the rest of the night.” 

Steve sat in silence. He was still so confused. “Sir-“ 

“Sir.” Steve was cut off by Natasha. “Agent 13’s apartment is secure. The assassin is in custody. We also found nothing in the apartment that would compromise us or the CIA.” She stood next to Steve and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “How is she?”

“Resting.” Fury answered. “Any news on if they cracked where the signal was coming from that transmitted that video?”

“Not yet. I’ll have Stark on it if it’s not found within the hour.” She replied.

“Stark?” Steve asked suddenly.

“You of all people should know how important Ms. Carter is to the Stark family.” Fury pulled a laptop in front of him and began typing. 

“What is Hydra doing here? Why are they attacking Peggy?” Steve asked frustrated. “And why are they holding her niece hostage? What do they want with a civilian?”

“Ms. Carter was one of the original Founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. not to mention a large part of creating Captain America.” Fury started. Steve felt heat rise in his neck at the mention of himself. “She has valuable information about not only you, but the inner workings of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra is trying to use Peggy as a way to get this information from her grand niece.”

“Why would they think she would know anything about the agency? She’s a civilian.” Steve was confused. Fury turned the computer around for him to see the screen.

“Because her grand-niece is not a regular civilian.” Fury pressed play.

Steve stared intently at the screen. Someone was holding up the Hydra symbol to the camera to show Peggy exactly who they were; the people she hated most. The symbol moved and a room was revealed. It was dark with grimy cement walls and floor. A small window with bars sat high and shed light into the room. Steve felt his mouth go dry. He was expecting a little girl, but instead saw a woman. She was chained by the wrists and hanging from the ceiling. Her toes were barely brushing the floor. Steve was disgusted. Her head hung limp on her chest and he could see she was dirty and bloody. A man appeared from the corner of the room with a stool. He stepped up and grabbed the woman by her blond hair and yanked her head back. She cried out in surprise. Steve jumped up from his chair in shock and leaned into the screen to see the woman’s face. He knew that face. She struggled in his grip until he punched her and she fell limp again. The screen went black.

Steve looked between Fury and Natasha. Fury spoke first. “Agent 13’s name is Sharon Carter. She is the great grand-niece of Agent Peggy Carter.” Steve felt a wave of fear course through his body mixed with anger and embarrassment. Had he really flirted and asked out Peggy’s niece? “She was sent on a mission a month ago with the CIA to take out a small Hydra base we had learned about.”

“The CIA is hunting Hydra?” Steve asked.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t the only agency that Hydra pissed off.” He shut the laptop and continued, “After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., the CIA began taking over small missions against Hydra while we regrouped and reformed. And who better to run these missions than a former agent who worked first hand with Hydra?” Steve glanced at Natasha. 

“Ms. Carter has been relaying Hydra information between the CIA and us the last few months to keep us informed. Her and her team were sent on a mission to Norway to scope out a possible Hydra base that was being used to hold ammunition and supplies.” Natasha pulled up the file on the laptop to show him. “Six went in, including Carter. Four were killed in action and one barely escaped. The CIA called three weeks ago with the information.”

“What did the agent that escaped say happened?” Steve stared at the file in front of him, flipping through the pictures of all the agents.

“It was a trap. They knew who Sharon was from the files that were released in the data dump and from the sleeper agents that were close with her. They killed four agents before Sharon sacrificed herself and took them on so the last agent could get away. We believe they are trying to get her to give up any information she has on S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America, and silence her from giving the CIA all the names of the sleeper Hydra agents that escaped.”

“So she’s been a hostage for over a month? How come no one has gone to save her?” Steve’s blood was boiling now and he was itching to grab his shield, march out the door, and find Sharon Carter himself.

“The CIA returned to the location, but it was long cleared out by the time they got there. They’ve been on numerous rescue missions, all unsuccessful.” Fury filled in.

“So why are they here terrorizing Peggy and breaking into her apartment?” Steve had so many questions.

“She isn’t talking.” Fury said simply. “They are resorting to finding the information themselves and blackmailing her with the one of the most important people in her life to get the information they want. Thankfully, we were prepared. We’ve had extra security watching Ms. Carter since we got the call that Sharon was a hostage and Romanoff has been keeping an eye out on your apartment and hers for any intruders.”

“That’s how you got to the apartment so fast earlier.” Steve stated, shaking his head to himself. “So what now?”

“The CIA is trying to locate the origin of the signal from the video, but are running out of resources to locate her. They don’t normally deal with the extraordinary and supernatural like we do. Hydra technology is a little more advanced than they are used to. That’s why we’re here. When they contacted us after she was taken hostage, we told them we would take care of Peggy Carter and Sharon’s apartment while they worried about finding her. After this attack, they are asking for an alliance to find her and bring her back.” Natasha explained.

An agent suddenly appeared in the doorway. “We have a location.”

There was a long pause before Fury spoke, “Call it Cap.”


	3. Chapter 3

Eight hours later, Steve found himself jumping out of a plane and onto the roof of the building they had tracked the signal to. He landed easily on his feet and quickly made his way across the roof, taking out four men as he went.

“Roof is clear.” Steve said.

“We took out the back guards and are working on an entrance.” Natasha replied. A loud bang erupted from somewhere to Steve’s left. “We’re in.” 

Natasha waited for the smoke to clear before moving into the building, a handful of CIA agents following her and guns raised. An alarm blared loudly overhead and she could hear people scrambling about in the building. She held her gun steady as they moved forward. 

“Barton, do you see anything?” Nat asked as she shot two men and continued down the hallway.

“Third floor, east side. It’s the only window with bars.” Barton said as he rounded the jet around the building.

“Cap?” Nat asked.

“I’m headed there now.” He slammed his shield into the locked metal door leading into the building. It swung open with a bang, revealing a staircase. He took them two at a times until he reached third floor. He threw himself into the door, knocking it off its frame. Five men were waiting for him. “Gentlemen.”  
\--  
Sharon forced her eyes open. The alarm was blaring and her guards shouting. She lifted her head slowly as she blinked her world into focus. She didn’t know how long she had been out this time. At first when she was captured, she stayed awake three days, refusing to show weakness and give into sleep. They interrogated her for days, but she still refused to speak. That’s when they began to torture her, trying to physically and emotionally exhaust her. They hated the strength she showed. They hated that they couldn’t break her. So they tortured her, humiliated her, and drugged her, hoping she would eventually give. When that didn’t work they starved her and chained her to the ceiling when she got a few good punches in and almost escaped. That was a week ago. 

Blackmail was the next step. They brought in a TV and left her to panic. She watched as a man held up a Hydra symbol from outside her nursing home. They continued to threaten they would attack, but Sharon still refused to talk. So they held true to their threats and Sharon watched in horror as a Hydra agent burst into Aunt Peggy’s home. Her screams quickly turned to laughter as they were taken out a moment later. She had paid for that laugh.

The sirens continued to blare loudly throughout the building. Sharon could hear people shouting and guns going off on the floors below her. She looked up at the chains holding her to the ceiling and grabbed them firmly in her hands, trying to use what little strength she had to dislodge them. She gave a big lurch and cried out as the cut on her side pulled open. She could feel the warm blood flow slowly from the exposed wound. She took a deep breath and tried again. Tears sprang to her eyes as pain shot through her whole body. She lurched one more time and cried out in frustration. Her body slumped as the energy in her body escaped her. The door in front of her opened. 

“Shut up!” Her guard shouted. He roughly grabbed her face, covering her mouth as he held a gun to her temple. “Any more noise and I shoot you.” He roughly let her go and moved to the corner of the room, picking up a needle. Sharon kept her head low until he was close. She mustered up the rest of her strength and kicked at him, knocking him back a few steps. He let out a shout of rage as he came at her again. She brought her legs up and kicked him in the chest, causing her to swing back. She used the momentum of the chains to kick him one last time in the jaw, knocking him off his feet. He stood quickly and slammed his body into hers causing the chains to dislodge from the ceiling. He stumbled in surprise and the two collapsed to the floor. Sharon saw stars as her head slammed against the harsh concrete. Her captor was quick to regain his wits as he slammed the needle into her arm causing everything to go black.  
\--  
Steve’s ears perked as a loud crash came from the door ahead of him. He punched the man in front of him, knocking him out. He kicked the door on his right open, revealing a man hovering over a motionless Sharon Carter. The man reached for his gun. A shot rang out. Steve turned to his left to see Natasha with her arm raised.

“We found her. How’s our exit looking?” Natasha spoke to Barton. Steve stepped over to Sharon and brought a hand to her neck.

“She’s alive, but her pulse is weak.” Steve announced. Natasha grabbed the needle off the floor and handed it to one of the agents to take back with them. Steve put his shield on his back before grabbing Sharon gently off the floor and cradling her in his arms.

“Head to the roof, I’ll meet you there.” Barton said into their ear. Natasha pushed past the agents and led the way. Steve ran slower than normal, trying not to jostle the frail woman in his arms. They made it up to the roof with no incidents and piled into the plane before anyone could ambush them. Once in the plane, Natasha took over and Barton quickly made up a stretcher for Sharon. One of the agents grabbed the medical kit and started to examine her. Steve set down his shield and pulled off his helmet before moving back over to her. His mouth went dry.

This was not the same woman that flirted with him in the hallway. Her face was bloody, bruised, and swollen. Her hair was dirty to the point that it was barely blonde anymore. There were cuts all across her body, some deep to the point that it was more of a stab wound. Burns where they tried to electrocute her were noticeable. New and old bruises covered almost all of her body, some of them in the form of fingerprints. She was thin, sickly thin and pale. They had been starving her.

An agent held up her arm, examining how swollen and raw her wrist was. “Broken wrist.” She stated to another agent who was furiously writing down every injury. “Three broken ribs and a large laceration on her left side. Any idea of the drug they just gave her?”

Steve stepped back. He couldn’t look at her anymore. The agents continued their assessment before finally covering her with a blanket and starting an IV. 

Barton took over the jet again. Steve gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Thank you for helping with everything.”

“Anything for you, Cap.” Clint replied. “Besides, retirement is a little more boring than I thought.” Steve gave a small smile before heading to the back of the plane. He sat down and stared at the floor. 

“She’s going to be alright. She’s strong.” Natasha sat down next to him.

“Over a month in captivity.” He shook his head. “How did she survive?”

“She’s a Carter.” Steve looked up at her. “She’s strong-willed and would do anything for her country and the ones she loves.” Nat looked over at him. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “It’s cruel what happened to her and they will pay. Hydra will pay for this, but you can’t sit here and beat yourself up about this. You didn’t know, you weren’t involved until now.” Steve stared down at his boots, his mind in overdrive about the woman he just rescued.


	4. Chapter 4

Her mind was muddled. She had no idea which way was up or if she was even conscious. It was quiet except for a distant beeping coming from her left. She tried to force her eyes open, but they felt cemented shut. She felt like she took on the Hulk and lost… horribly. She searched her mind for answers, but it was a jumbled mess of cement walls, bullets, pain, and shouting. The distant beeping became louder and her eyes felt lighter and lighter by the minute. She began to grasp at her memories. Being held hostage. Drugs. Torture. Aunt Peggy. She moaned as she finally pried open her eyes. 

She was met with a dark room. A rush of panic shot through her. Was she still in her cell? Her eyes focused and she was met with a familiar setting. She sighed realizing she was in a hospital room. Her eyes surveyed the room. It was dark and unusually quiet. She found the clock on the wall. 2:27 a.m. She let her eyes slip shut and took a few deep breaths before slowly opening them again. She was really here. She was really in a hospital. How did she get here?

She shifted in the bed and her body ached in protest. Her limbs felt like lead and she knew she’d never be able to reach the cup of water on the table next to her. She felt for the remote on the bed and pressed the button for a nurse. 

A moment later a young Doctor entered the room. “Shield your eyes, I’m turning on the light.” Sharon blinked, trying to adjust. The Doctor smiled brightly as she moved toward her. She seemed about the size of Sharon with chestnut hair pulled into a neat ponytail. She was wearing dark blue scrubs under her lab coat. 

“I was hoping you would wake up sometime soon Agent Carter.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. “Look this way.” The Doctor examined her eyes before grabbing Sharon’s chart.

“I…” Sharon croaked. She tried to clear her throat, but it only caused her to cough. She felt like she swallowed gravel.

The Doctor grabbed the water beside the bed and handed it to her. Sharon gulped it down quickly. “Thank you.” She rasped.

“You had us pretty worried there Agent Carter.” The Doctor set down the chart and moved to the IV bag. “We almost lost you when you first arrived. You coded in the ER.” Sharon stared at the Doctor, shocked. “The drugs they gave you were stronger than we expected and your body wasn’t handling it well. Not to mention your other severe injuries. Had you gotten here any later than you did, you’d probably be dead right now.” 

The Doctor finally turned back to her. “Three broken ribs, a broken wrist, various bruises, a couple major lacerations, dehydration, malnutrition, mild concussion and you had an infection that was starting to set in. Thankfully we caught the infection just in time.” She gingerly raised Sharon’s arm to inspect the bandage on her wrist before moving around the bed and doing the same to the other, this time checking that the skin was healing where it was chaffed raw from the chains. 

“I’m a medical Doctor with the CIA. You’re my charge for the time that you are here in the hospital. I know it’s a lot to hear, but I figured you would want to know the severity of your condition.” She gave a small smile. “I’m Doctor Schimdt. But please call me Gabby.”

“Sharon.” Her throat felt raw.

“Yes, I know Agent Carter.” She filled Sharon’s cup and handed it back to her.

“Will…” Sharon took another sip of water to clear her throat. “Will there be a lot of scarring?”

“There should be minimal to none. A specialist came in and took care of your major lacerations per Mr. Stark. She guaranteed no scarring.” Gabby smiled. “It’s pretty kick-ass.” Sharon smiled at that.

“How long-“ Sharon started. 

“You’ve been asleep for four days. I’ll report to the CIA that you are awake and they will debrief you and fill you in on all the details of your rescue.” She answered before Sharon could finish the question. “You’re safe now Sharon. I’m fully trained to take care of you medically and protect you if needed. You also have a guard watching your room at all times.” She squeezed Sharon’s hand lightly. Sharon felt hot tears well in her eyes. She still couldn’t quite believe that she was home and safe. 

“I’ll let your parents and Aunt know in the morning that you finally woke up.” Aunt Peggy. Her poor Aunt Peggy must be worried sick. Sharon opened her mouth to speak, but Gabby cut her off. “Your Aunt is fine. She’s been notified of your rescue and condition. The CIA repaired all damages to her nursing home and an extra Agent has been staying on site for protection. Her nurse says she’s been having some pretty good days, despite everything that has happened. Your Aunt put up quite a fight to come visit you at first, but with her condition and how weak she is, it wasn’t an option. Her nurse promised to let her video chat with you once you awoke.” 

Sharon cleared her throat. “When do I get to go home?” 

“Hopefully we can get you back onto solid foods by tomorrow afternoon so we can get your strength back. You’ll have physical therapy here at the hospital until the CIA and I feel you are ready to go home. So hopefully only a week or two tops.” Gabby replied with a small smile. She’s an optimistic, it was easy to tell. “But you’ll have to continue physical therapy and see a therapist at the Agency until they see that you are ready to be back in the field.” She answered before Sharon could even ask. “Well, I can see you’re tired. I’ll let you get some more rest.”

Sharon didn’t realize how heavy her eyes felt. “I’ll call your Aunt in the morning. Would you like me to notify Captain Rogers as well?” Sharon’s eyes snapped open and she sat up a little straighter. Before she could reply, Gabby nodded her head towards the corner. Sharon turned to see a large bouquet of sunflowers on the table that she didn’t notice before. Sunflowers were her favorite.

“Captain Rogers brought them in two days ago.” Sharon turned back to the Doctor. “He’s been here every day since the night of your rescue.” A million questions flooded her mind. “He’s been really worried.”

“Why?” Was all Sharon could ask.

“He says he made a promise to your Aunt that he would take care of you.” That sounded like Steve. So noble and loyal, especially to Aunt Peggy. His best girl. She felt a pang in her chest. “Would you like me to call him in the morning and let him know?” Sharon nodded, not sure what to say. “Get some rest Agent.” She flipped off the lights and before Sharon could contemplate Steve Rogers any more, she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve got the call early the next morning during his run. He couldn’t believe that Sharon had finally woken up. He immediately turned around in his route and headed back to Sam’s house where he was staying. He had called Sam after they returned from the mission and told him he was going to take a few weeks to himself. Natasha had given him a knowing smile during the call and he frowned at the fact that she knew him so well. 

Steve spent five hours in the ER after Sharon was admitted with Natasha and Barton. He couldn’t bring himself to leave until he knew she was stable and moved upstairs to be cared for. He didn’t care that they were all in their outfits; dirty, sweaty, and tired. Natasha and Barton left after an hour, both wanting to get back to Barton’s house where his wife and kids were waiting. Steve had nodded, thanked them, and promised to call the next day with a status report.

The next four hours were the longest. He sat with his head in his hands in the waiting room. Eventually, a nurse led him to the staff lounge so he could wait in private without people staring and wondering why Captain America was sitting in the waiting room of the best hospital in the city. So he sat there mindlessly watching crappy TV with a Styrofoam cup of crappy coffee. He nearly had a panic attack when he heard that Sharon was coding.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Sharon’s Doctor told him she was stable and being taken upstairs to a private and secure ward. He thanked her multiple times as she filled him in on her injuries and condition. He was then led out the back door of the hospital and sent home.

Steve visited Peggy the next morning. She was in good spirits after receiving the call that Sharon was stable and recovering in the hospital. Peggy had held his hand tightly and cried as she thanked him repeatedly. Steve just held her hand and listened.

“I told you I would find her.” Peggy nodded at his words.

“Will you visit her Steve? They won’t let me.” Peggy asked worriedly. “Promise me you’ll take care of my Sharon.”

“Anything for my best girl.” And Steve was going to keep that promise. After leaving Peggy’s he went straight to the hospital and sat by Sharon’s side for hours, hoping she would awake. Doctor Schmidt wasn’t as optimistic that she would within the next day or two, but Steve didn’t care. He continued to come every day around lunch, sometimes bringing sandwiches for the staff and sat with Sharon. He called Natasha and had her dig around and find out Sharon’s favorite flower. Sunflowers. He bought a bouquet and brought them. It was the only gift Sharon had received during her stay other than a bouquet from her parents who were out of the country. 

Steve made it to the hospital by 9:30 in the morning and smiled when he saw Doctor Schmidt at the nurses’ station. She smiled back brightly.

“Captain Rogers!” She reached behind the desk and procured a small brown bag. “I know they are your favorite from the cafeteria.” Steve opened the bag to see a breakfast burrito. 

“Thank you Doctor Schmidt.”

“Gabby, call me Gabby. And it’s the least I can do after you brought lunch two days in a row.” She moved from behind the desk and walked toward Sharon’s room. “I’m sorry to tell you, but Agent Carter hasn’t awoken yet this morning.” It still felt foreign to Steve’s ears to hear people say ‘Agent Carter’ and not be referring to Peggy. “You can go in and sit with her if you’d like though.”

Steve nodded at the guard sitting outside the room reading the morning paper. Gabby opened the door quietly and Steve immediately noticed three new bouquets of flowers sitting next to his. “Who are the flowers from?”

“The wildflowers are from Agents Romanoff and Barton, the tulips are from Ms. Peggy Carter, and the extravagant roses are from Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts. They all arrived early this morning.” Gabby said quietly. Steve smiled to himself, happy that other people were thinking about Sharon as well.

Gabby excused herself and shut the door behind her. Steve moved to his usual spot in the chair beside her bed. He made himself comfortable before pulling out his sketch pad and beginning to draw.

—

“Sharon?” The voice sounded distant. “Sharon?” Someone was shaking her shoulder. “Sharon, can you open your eyes?” Sharon finally peeled her eyes open to see Doctor Schmidt smiling down at her. “Sharon, you’ve been sleeping all day. How are you feeling? Can you try to sit up? I’d like to try to have you awake for a while.”

Sharon’s mind was fuzzy. She heard what the Doctor was saying, but was having a hard time comprehending it. Her body heavy and exhausted. All she wanted to do was fall back asleep. She felt her eyes slip shut.

“Sharon? You have a visitor.” Sharon slowly opened her eyes. Gabby nodded her head to the side and Sharon shifted her eyes to the side of the bed. Steve Rogers was next to the bed. He gave a small smile.

“Cap.” Sharon said softly as her eyes slipped shut once more.

—

Sharon finally awoke and was able to stay awake three hours later. Doctor Schmidt sat with her and talked for about an hour before turning on the TV for Sharon and letting her rest on her own. Steve was gone by the time she awoke but left her a note. He was headed back to Avengers headquarters for a few days, but promised to return. 

Sharon watched mindless TV for hours. Now that her mind was finally awake and clear it wouldn’t stop racing. She replayed her time in captivity over and over again. She remembered how they arrived at their mark and were ambushed when they entered the building. She remembered how she sacrificed herself so that her last Agent could escape. She remembered feeling hopeless that she would live through it. But she knew that if she was going to die, she was going to die honorably and take all her secrets with her. The only thing she didn’t remember was how she got out of that hell-hole after the sirens went off. She pieced together that the commotion she heard was Steve and his team coming to save her.

Steve. She couldn’t figure out why he was paying so much attention to her. Was it purely out of respect to Aunt Peggy or did he actually care about her? The last time she saw him was when she went to visit Fury. Steve seemed less than thrilled to see her, but it still didn’t compare to that day at the Triskilion. ‘Neighbor.’ He had been so cold to her that day. She frowned at the thought of Steve only being here as a favor to her aunt. Next time he visited she would set him straight. She wasn’t a charity case nor a little girl that needed protection. She was an spy. A damn good spy who could take care of herself. 

“Still awake I see.” Sharon’s thoughts were cut off by Doctor Schmidt. She pulled out a dish of ice cream. “I thought you would prefer this over the JELL-O.”

“Thank you.” She grabbed it greedily and smiled as she took a large bite. It tasted like heaven. Gabby sat a small vomit bucket on Sharon’s lap. Sharon looked at her, perplexed.

“Just in case.” Gabby said simply. She shoved her hands in lab coat. “So I’m hoping tomorrow we can get you up out of bed and onto your feet. I’d like to see how you do with just standing and then go from there on what the next step is in your physical therapy.” Sharon nodded as she took another bite. “The physical therapist should be in around 9 a.m. tomorrow and then will be back after lunch to try again. I’m really hopeful that we will get you up and walking around in the next few days so we can clear you to go home.”

“Will I be actually going home or a rehabilitation center?” Sharon asked.

“It depends on how well you do. I’m optimistic we will be able to send you home. If that happens, you will have a nurse stop by in the mornings to check on you and escort you to physical therapy.” Gabby replied smartly. Sharon set down her finished ice cream and relaxed back into her pillows.

“Thank you again, for everything.” Sharon said sincerely.

Gabby smiled as she took the empty bowl of ice cream. “You are very welcome. I’ll see you in the morning.” She excused herself quietly. Sharon grabbed for the remote, hoping to find something to keep her attention until she fell asleep. Sleep ended up having to wait. Not five minutes later she grabbed for the vomit bucket and swore off ice cream for the next month.

—

Eight days later and Sharon was happy to be hours away from going home, or well, Aunt Peggy’s nursing home. Her apartment wasn’t an option to go home to anymore. It cost a pretty penny, but Aunt Peggy’s suite had a small extra bedroom for family or a live-in nurse. Aunt Peggy’s nurse was going to help her out and drive her to physical therapy and therapist appointments until her physical therapist and doctor approved her to drive again. She was hoping at her first appointment she would be cleared. She felt helpless having so many people fuss over her. It wasn’t like she had two broken legs. But she understood. She had been starved and lost so much strength in that month of captivity. Physical therapy was her only chance of building back her strength enough to go back to work.

Sharon changed slowly into the set of scrubs Gabby had given her to wear home. She had forgotten how comfortable they were. After a long hot shower, she found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was finally looking normal again. The bruises on her face were almost faded and cuts had all healed. Her eyes were bright once again and didn’t seem as sunken into her face. Her cheeks were less hollow and had finally gotten some color back into them. She frowned at the thought of people seeing her in such a terrible state, especially Steve. She must had been so ugly and grim to look at when she was found.

She shook her head of the thoughts, but Steve still lingered in her mind. He hadn’t been back to visit. What ever he was doing for the Avengers must be more extensive than he originally wrote about. Or maybe he just used that as an excuse not to visit anymore. She frowned even more. Why did she even care? He was only here visiting because of Peggy. Because he couldn’t say no to her, to his ‘best girl.’ 

She turned from the mirror in disgust. What was her problem? Was she really jealous that he still called Peggy that? Yes, yes she was. Because it wasn’t fair that Aunt Peggy got the love story of a lifetime and here she was alone, in the hospital, with only one visiter. A visiter that felt obligated to see her. Not a single friend had come by. Sure, she had gotten flowers, but it wasn’t the same. The sting of loneliness hit her hard in that moment. She knew she had chosen this life long ago when she devoted herself to being a spy, but she never let the loneliness affect her. Until now. 

Is this how Aunt Peggy felt after the war and Steve’s death? Did she feel like this that night she waited for Steve at the Stork club, knowing full well he was never going to show? Is this how Steve felt waking up in a new time period? She frowned again at the thought of Steve. She wanted to hit something when she thought about how he was only here because of her Aunt. Sure, they had flirted a few times in the hallway and he asked her out, but any sort of trust or feelings he might have had for her were shattered when she burst through his door and announced who she was. He was so cold to her when he saw her next and then again when she visited Fury. That’s why she knew he was only visiting out of obligation, not concern. And she shouldn’t care, but she did. Absolutely, she did.

She would be a fool to say that she wasn’t attracted to Steve. And a fool to say that she didn’t have a small crush on him. Her mind drifted back to that day on the landing when he asked her to coffee. She had wanted so badly to say yes, but she knew she couldn’t. It was wrong. Not only because he was her charge, but because of Aunt Peggy. He was in love with Aunt Peggy, he always would be which made even the thought of them complicated. It made them damn near impossible and she hated that. She hated that the first guy she’d had crush on since her Academy days was the one guy she would never have a future with. 

She had to get out of this bathroom and her mind. Sharon shoved the bathroom door open harshly. She gasped as the door crashed into a hard figure, causing a loud bang. Her hands flew to her face as she stood stunned. She heard the person on the other side curse under their breath. She cautiously opened the door and peered around it to find Captain America himself rubbing his forehead. 

“Captain Rogers.” She said in shock. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were here.” Damn these rooms, why would you put the bathroom door right by the door to the room. “Are you hurt?”

“Only my pride.” She gave a small laugh. “What did that door ever do to you?” He asked, finally meeting her eyes.

She looked down at her bare feet. She really needed a pedicure. “I guess I don’t know my own strength anymore.” She said sheepishly.

“You were Hulking out.” She cocked her head in question. The smile on his face started to waiver. “Did I use that term right? I’ve heard people say it before. Hulking out. You know, like, don’t know your own strength, like becoming the… Hulk…” He trailed off and scratched the back of his neck.

She laughed and nodded. “Yes, you got it right. I just…” She paused, not knowing what to say, “that’s just not something I thought I would ever hear you say.”

He shoved his hands in his pocket, “Yeah… I really need to just stick to terminology I know and stop trying to sound modern.”

“Does Dr. Banner know you are saying this?” She asked jokingly.

“He’s the one that taught me what it meant.” They both laughed until they fell into awkward silence. Steve cleared his throat. “I uh… sorry I couldn’t make it back sooner to visit you.”

Sharon’s mood soured again. She brushed past him to the small table in the corner of her room. Gabby had set out a pair of socks and brown moccasins that she picked up at the store for Sharon. She snatched them off the table and moved to the bedside chair and began slowly putting them on.

“You didn’t have to come.” She spat. Steve stiffened at her tone. “It’s not like Aunt Peg would have known or remembered if you visited or not.”

Steve took a few steps closer toward where she was sitting. “Is that why you think I’m here? Because of Peggy?”

Sharon stood up, bringing them even closer. She suddenly realized how much taller he was than her. “Of course it is! Why else would you be here? It’s not like we’re friends. You’ve been nothing but rude to me since you found out I was S.H.I.E.L.D. You have no reason to be here other than some stupid promise you made to my Aunt.” He stood stiff, his face expressionless as she went off on him. “Just leave. I don’t need your pity visits because you have some moral obligation to check up on me on behalf of my Aunt.” She brushed past him again, but he caught her wrist. She hissed in pain and clutched it to her chest. 

His entire demeanor softened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He said softly as she rubbed her bandaged wrist. He ran his hand across the back of his neck, a habit Sharon was starting to catch onto. “Sharon, I’m not here because Peggy asked me to be. I mean, she did ask that I would visit you, but I’m not here just because of that. I’m here because I was concerned about you.” He sighed. “The night Peggy was attacked she asked me to find her niece and that was it. I found out later that it was you and I was shocked. Mortified, actually, that I had asked you out when you were Peggy’s grandniece.” Sharon couldn’t believe how open he was being suddenly. 

“I had to find and rescue you. Not just because you were Peggy’s family, but because you were my next door neighbor that I was having trouble getting out of my mind.” Her heart leapt into her throat. “I’m not going to lie, I was mad when I found out you were S.H.I.E.L.D. But, I feel terrible about how I treated you that day in headquarters as well as at Fury’s apartment. Any anger I still had for you left the moment I knew you were in danger.” He paused, his eyes bore into hers and she found that she couldn’t speak. They fell into silence until a knock sounded at the door.

“Am I interrupting something?” Gabby smiled brightly. Sharon shook her head.

“Uh… no, what’s the status on me breaking out of here?” Sharon moved stiffly around Steve toward Gabby. 

“I have a few more papers for you to sign and then you are free to go.” She said, handing Sharon her clipboard. “Read through these and sign and date.” Sharon sat down on the bed and started to look through the papers.

“You’re going home today?” Steve asked suddenly. Sharon nodded, still looking at the papers.

“Oh Agent Carter,” Gabby poked her head back into the room, “will your Aunt’s nurse be picking you up or should I call for a cab to take you home?” 

“A cab, please.” Sharon looked back down at her papers.

Steve made a small sound, “You know, if you want, I can drive you home, might be cheaper than taking a cab.” Sharon looked up at him, deja vu hitting her full force. Her mind flew to that day on the landing of their apartment. Did he mean to do that?

She gave a small smile. “Oh yeah, what’s it cost?”

Steve smiled widely. “A cup of coffee?”

She shook her head lightly, feeling a bit ridiculous, but loving every second of this exchange. “Okay.” She said simply. She ducked her head, trying to hide the silly grin on her face in the paperwork.

“I’ll go let Doctor Schmidt know.” Steve said, a stupid smile on his face as well.


	6. Chapter 6

The drive home was less awkward than Sharon expected. Steve asked her questions about her recovery in the hospital and what her plan was moving forward now that she was returning home. She felt terrible when they arrived at the nursing home and realized she had talked about herself the entire time. She apologized profusely as Steve helped her out of the car and up the walk. He smiled and repeatedly told her he didn’t mind. Steve asked her the moment the double doors slid open for her phone number. Now that she said yes to his invitation to coffee, he wasn’t going to let her leave without her number. She smiled and gave it to him without hesitation. 

“I’m going to call you tomorrow.” He said as he stepped toward his car.

“I hope so.” She replied as she stepped through the doors. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face the rest of the night. Sharon met Peggy’s nurse in the hallway and chatted before finally going to see Aunt Peggy. Their reunion was filled with tears and laughter. By the time Aunt Peggy tired and needed to rest, Sharon was ready to eat an early dinner and go to bed. She sighed against the pillows and fell asleep instantly.

—

Steve awoke with butterflies. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt butterflies in his stomach. He went for his morning run, hoping by the end of it they were gone. It had been successful up until Natasha called.

“When’s the wedding?” She asked as Steve put the phone to his ear. He had the feeling Sharon and Natasha were better friends than they let on.

“Funny.”

“I have a lead for you. When are you back?” The butterflies disappeared.

“I have an appointment. Give me four hours.”

“We’ll be ready and waiting.” She hung up. Steve quickly packed his few things and headed out. Before he left he needed to see Peggy. 

The butterflies returned as he stepped into the building, realizing that there was a high chance of running into Sharon during his visit. Peggy’s nurse was waiting outside the suite for him.

“Captain Rogers! So good to see you. Thank you again for everything you’ve done for the Carters.” 

He gave a small smile. “My pleasure ma’am.”

“I’ve told you before, you don’t need to call me ma’am. Please, call me Mary. I’ll have to ask you to be extra quiet this morning. Sharon just returned from physical therapy and the poor girl fell asleep on the couch before her head even hit the pillow.” She opened the door wider. Sharon was indeed asleep on the couch. She hadn’t even taken her shoes off. 

Steve stared at her a moment before Mary cleared her throat, snapping him from his thoughts. He gave a small smile before making his way to Peggy’s room. His visit was more emotional than he would have liked. Peggy repeatedly thanked him and cried. He held her hand tight as he reassured her that everyone was safe now. It wasn’t until she finally settled that Steve watched as her eyes glazed and suddenly the conversation started again. He waited until she settled once again before kissing her hand with the promise to visit again soon. 

When he stepped out of Peggy’s room he saw Mary sitting in the living room chair reading a book while Sharon continued to sleep on the couch. He nodded at Mary before letting himself out.

—  
Sharon awoke to a crash. She shot up from the couch and hurtled herself into Peggy’s room, the gun she hid under the couch in hand. Peggy looked at her exasperated.

“I taught you a little too well to always be on guard.” Sharon lowered the gun and moved toward the broken glass on the floor. “I only dropped my glass of water.” Mary appeared in the doorway with the broom.

“I’m sorry Aunt Peggy, I’m just a little on edge.” She picked up the larger pieces as Mary swept the rest of the mess. Peggy reached out for her hand which Sharon gladly took.

“You are a strong woman and I am so proud of you.” Sharon kissed her hand. 

“Thank you Aunt Peggy.” 

“Now go fetch me another water.” Sharon cocked an eyebrow at her Aunt.

“Sassy.” Sharon muttered under her breath as she stepped out of the room.

“I heard that.”

After sitting with Aunt Peggy for the rest of the morning and joining her for lunch, Sharon finally had a moment to herself. Her heart leapt when she noticed a missed call and voicemail on her phone. It was Steve. She frowned at his message. Something came up and he was headed out of the country for an indefinite amount of time. He promised to call and check in when he could. She sighed and saved the number in her phone before throwing it down on her couch. Now what was she supposed to do with her time while stuck in a nursing home?

—

Four days later, Sharon found herself in her new apartment. Everything was back to normal, well, except for the added security to her doors and windows. They had found an apartment similar to her previous one and decorated almost exactly to match. She had a feeling Tony Stark might have had a hand in it, there was no way the CIA just willingly moved you and re-decorated out of the goodness of their hearts.

Physical therapy was going well and she was improving quicker than her therapist expected. Today they checked her reflexes with target practice. It was like riding a bike. She aced the test first time. Her therapist cleared her to return to work starting next week, paperwork duty, but it was still work. She was excited to get back to a regular schedule. All this down time was slowly boring her to death.

After another few excruciatingly boring days, Sharon was excited to be picking out her outfit for her first day back to work. She stood in front of her closet, debating on what shoes to wear. She settled on a smaller heel, no need to kill her feet on her first day back. Her phone buzzed from her bed. She checked the number.

“It’s me.”

“Hang on.” Sharon moved quickly toward the bathroom and shut the door, she turned the shower on to drown out her conversation. She already turned her apartment upside down multiple times checking for bugs, but she was always extra careful when Natasha called. 

“Still there?”

Sharon slumped onto the toilet, tears welling in her eyes. The bitter taste of loneliness was hitting her full force again. “You didn’t visit.” 

There was a long pause. “I’m sorry. I’m out of town for a family wedding.” That was their code that she was deep undercover.

“How was it?”

“The usual. Uncle Frank got drunk. Food was mediocre. No cute bachelors so I went home alone.” Code again: Fury’s assignment. She’s making due with food and shelter. Her cover is still intact.

“When are you traveling home?”

“I’m making a bit of a vacation of it so not for another week. I’ll buy you a drink to make it up to you for not visiting while you were in the hospital.”

“Make it two.” Sharon shot back.

“Deal.” Natasha replied quickly. She paused. “I wanted to stay at the hospital, but Steve wasn’t going to leave and he doesn’t know how close our friendship is. I left the next day.” Sharon let out a shaky breath at her words. “Share, I’ve been there before. No one warns you how lonely it actually is. Everything is adrenaline and work until one day it just hits you. It paralyzes you. I’m here.”

Sharon wiped her tears. Natasha was rarely there physically, but she was always there if Sharon needed her to talk. “I know.”

“How’s the physical therapy?” She switched the subject.

“I’m hoping to be signed off at the end of the week.”

“You must be kicking ass in those sessions to be close to being signed off on.”

“I wasn’t the top of my class at the Academy for nothing.”

“Damn straight.” Natasha paused for a long moment. “So… Did you get that coffee yet?” Sharon had called Nat once she settled into Peggy’s nursing home and filled her in on Steve’s coffee invitation.

“I’ll see you when you get home. Have a safe trip.” Sharon quipped.

“Say yes next time he asks.” The line went dead.


	7. Chapter 7

Sharon’s first week back to work was shit. She spent every day stuck at her desk filing paperwork. Every time she got close to being done, someone would set a new stack of files on her desk. She glared at everyone that passed her desk and spat single word answers to anyone that asked how she was doing. To top off her day, she had to go to physical therapy after which left her wiped by the time she got home. 

It was finally Friday. Sharon finished her last file and headed to physical therapy. If she passed this evaluation she would be cleared for field work. She had changed quickly into her workout clothes and made it to the gym in record time. Her evaluation had been going great up until her hand-to-hand combat evaluation. She had been holding her own until her partner turned her wrist too roughly.

“What the fuck?!” She turned to her partner as she held her wrist to her chest. “Have you never sparred with anyone before? You don’t break their fucking bones!” 

“I’m sorry Agent Carter.” He said apologetically. She stepped away and took a few deep breaths.

“It’s fine.” She sighed and stepped toward her physical therapist. “I’m on desk duty until this heals, aren’t I?” 

Sharon left with a freshly bandaged wrist and a sour mood. She threw her stuff down when she got home and beat up a few pillows before finally collapsing on the couch. She felt so helpless. Her life had been a mess since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and her closest friend was a world-class spy that she saw maybe once every four months. Her only family were her parents who visited a new country every month and Aunt Peggy who could wake up tomorrow and not remember her at all.

Sharon choked back a sob. She reached for her phone to call Natasha. She dialed her personal phone she kept for only a handful of people. She hesitated over the call button before finally tossing the phone away from her. 

She rubbed her eyes. “Get it together Sharon. You’re a Carter. This is just a rough patch. You are stronger than this.” She whispered to herself. She tried to imagine what Natasha would do in this situation. “Well she would have punched the shit out of her opponent… and so would have Aunt Peggy.” She laughed to herself, picturing both women in her situation. 

Sharon finally pulled herself together only to find herself in the same situation Sunday night. Aunt Peggy had a rough weekend. She mistook Sharon for her mother, never once recognizing her for who she was. And to top it off, Steve called Mary Sunday afternoon to check on Peggy. Sharon waited anxiously all afternoon for him to call and check in with her. It was 9:00p.m. and still no call. She was starting to think everything he said to her in the hospital was a lie.

A knock startled Sharon out of her thoughts. She silently set down her mug of tea and grabbed her gun. She tiptoed to her door and listened. Silence. She peeked quickly through the peephole and sighed at the familiar dark glasses.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Nicolas Fury stepped past her into the apartment.

“No sir. How can I help you?” She clicked the safety on and tucked the gun back into it’s hiding place. 

“The CIA is getting curious about The Winter Soldier.” 

“Sergeant Barnes?” Sharon asked. She had grown up on stories of Captain America and the Howling Commandos. She spent countless hours researching the ‘ghost story’ since she first heard about him from Peggy as a teenager. She had been just as shocked as everyone to find out that The Winter Soldier was Bucky Barnes.

“They believe he’s a loose canon.”

“And what do you believe?” Sharon asked.

Fury paused a moment. “Well he did ‘kill’ me.”

“Yes, and for someone who is dead, you sure like to have a hand in things when you should be relaxing on a beach somewhere.”

Fury eyed her in response. “Captain Rogers doesn’t agree, but I believe Barnes is a risk until he can be detained and psychologically evaluated. Right now, we don’t know the extent of his memory or capabilities. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have unlimited resources to spend on finding him at the moment so the CIA has offered to gather intel.”

“Just intel?”

He smirked. “They’ll ask you what you know outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. leak. They’ll want you to lead the team.”

“What do you want me to tell them?”

Fury smiled at her. “I want you to say yes and I want you to make sure they are only gaining intel. Barnes will not come easy if taken by force and Captain Rogers won’t make it easy for you to take him by force.”

“Steve’s been tracking him.” It didn’t surprise her that he would. It surprised her that she didn’t think of it before.

“Since he first disappeared after the Triskilion fell. He’ll get close and then the trail will go cold and he’ll work on other projects until a new lead comes up.” Fury stepped toward the door. “I never did thank you for standing up to Rumlow that day.”

“I never thanked you for taking care of Aunt Peggy.” Sharon replied as Fury stepped into the hallway. Fury nodded at her before disappearing down the stairs.

—

Before Sharon could even settle into her desk Monday morning, her boss was calling her into his office. She sat down silently and waited. He slapped down a file in front of her. She didn’t even have to open it to know what it was about. He opened the file to show an old picture of Bucky Barnes. 

“What do you know of the Winter Soldier?”

Sharon’s face was neutral. “Same as you, sir. Everything I know was released in the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.” She lied.

He watched her closely. “There have been a string of attacks on known Hydra agents. When looking deeper into them, they all seem to be connected to the Winter Soldier. We believe they are people who hired him or worked to control him.”

“If he’s going after Hydra, isn’t he doing you a favor?”

Her boss narrowed his eyes at her. “And when he’s taken all of them out, who’s next? Civilians?” He paused. “I’m clearing you for active duty. I want you to take lead on this. You know his file. I have a list of presumed Hydra agents that had contact with him. I want you to check them out and gain intel.”

“And Barnes?”

“Find out what these agents know. I doubt you will have to deal with Barnes. He knows how to stay off the grid.”

Sharon nodded and picked up the file. She moved to step out of his office. “And Carter?” She turned back toward him.

“Sir?”

“If you do intercept Barnes, I expect you to do what is necessary to bring him in.” She nodded before stalking back to her desk. He was out of his mind if he thought they could take on the Winter Soldier and live to tell the tale. Steve barely survived and Natasha got a bullet through her abdomen the first time she encountered him. Looks like she’s in for another crappy week.

—

Sharon came home Friday evening to a postcard slipped under her door. The iconic Christ the Redeemer was pictured with Rio De Janeiro scrawled below it. She flipped it over to find an address and time with Natasha’s familiar signature below. She dumped her work bag on the couch before heading to her room to change.

Sharon arrived precisely on time. She entered the small dive bar and bee-lined for the side of the bar where the familiar red-head sat. It was a little darker in the corner and was positioned so someone could survey the entire bar and entrance. Sharon slipped into the chair next to Natasha. She motioned to the bartender who immediately set a beer in front of Sharon.

“Tabs on me tonight, I owe you.” Nat turned to her. “Feeling better?”

Sharon sighed, held up a finger to give her a moment, and took a long swig of her beer. Nat arched an eyebrow.

“A little.” She finally answered. “I just… I’ve never felt so lonely in my life. I knew spy life would be lonely, but shit Nat. I’ve never felt it like this before.”

“Wait until you are stranded in a foreign country on the run, then you will really feel alone and helpless.” Natasha took a sip.

Sharon shook her head. “I know, I know you know the feeling better than anyone. I know you’ve been in it way worse than me, but…” She trailed off.

“But it still hits you like a ton of bricks and hurts like hell. And I don’t think I’ve had it worse than you.” Nat answered. “I’ve never been held hostage for over a month and nearly killed. You, Sharon, are my hero. I don’t blame you for feeling like you’ve hit rock bottom emotionally. When is your next psych eval?”

Sharon nodded at her words, afraid to speak and let her emotions take hold. She took a shaky sip. “Thank you and in two days.” She took another sip to ease herself. “How are you?”

Natasha sighed. “I’m tired.” Sharon gave a small smile and put her hand on top of Nat’s. She loved that Natasha was rawly honest with her. “Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to leave this all behind. To be normal. But then I realize I will never be normal. And what the fuck would I do with all my free time?” She laughed. “I don’t know how Clint does it. I spend more than a week there and I get restless.”

“Barton loves that stuff. He loves that farm.”

“He really does! As much as he loves the fight, he absolutely loves that farm and his family. I don’t think I could ever do it.”

“Have a farm? Can you imagine you raising chickens?” Sharon laughed along with Nat.

“Fucking chickens.” Her laughed died down. “No, I’m talking about having a family. I know I physically can’t, but I can’t imagine even living a quiet life.” Sharon squeezed her hand.

“You would have to take up teaching self-defense or kickboxing to prevent yourself from beating up civilians that piss you off, but you could do it.” Sharon assured her. “You more than anyone deserves a quiet life. You went through hell for years training to be an assassin, you got beat down over and over again.” She squeezed her hand again, making Nat look her in the eye. “You have spent enough time fighting and being lonely to earn a peaceful life. Your covers are blown, the Avengers can take care of themselves, if you wanted to walk away no one would judge you. You deserve it.”

Natasha’s eyes filled with tears, Sharon could see she was trying to hold them from spilling down her cheeks. “You really think I could walk away?”

“I think when you are ready, you will. And when that happens, you better call me because I am dying to watch Thor carry an entire couch up three flights of stairs by himself.” They both laughed, the mood suddenly lighter. 

“Those boys do owe me.” She laughed. “Speaking of the boys, have you heard from your boyfriend yet?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“But you want him to be.” Nat smiled and took a sip of beer.

Sharon rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s never going to work.”

“Steve likes you, I know he does.”

“But it’ll never work. We talked at the hospital and I want to believe him when he says that he has forgiven me for not telling him who I was and lying to him while undercover, but… I don’t know if it’s enough.” She wiped the sweat from her glass. “There’s so much baggage between us and we barely know each other. And there’s Aunt Peggy…”

“You know I’m not the most… sentimental person,” Nat smiled, “But if anyone deserves to find someone it’s you and Rogers. Why do you think I’ve been pushing you two so hard?”

“Because you think it’s funny to push him to ask me out when you know I’m on assignment and can’t.” She quipped.

“At least I was nice and warned you that I was going to do it! Besides, you could have said yes. It wouldn’t have raised any flags with your cover. You’re just too damn nice and noble to say yes.” She motioned to the bartender for another round.

“It would have been wrong.”

“Yeah, but the good kind of wrong.” Nat elbowed her and raised her eyebrows. 

Sharon sighed. “And Aunt Peggy?”

Nat paused. “She holds a special place in his heart and had things been different, he would probably would have married her.” Sharon’s stomach gave a lurch. “But things are different and he’s finally come to terms that things aren’t going to go back to how they were. That Peggy lived a full life and it’s time for him to do the same.”

“Is that why he asked me out the day I left the hospital and hasn’t called since?”

“I said he liked you, not that he was the best with women.” Nat snorted. “Want me to kick his ass?”

Sharon laughed. “No…maybe.” The rest of the evening was spent laughing and downing numerous beers. Natasha paid the tab like promised and stumbled back to Sharon’s apartment to crash on the couch.


	8. Chapter 8

Natasha awoke the next morning to find herself alone in Sharon’s apartment. She vaguely remembered Sharon mentioning something last night about being gone in the morning, but she was either too tired or too drunk to retain it. She definitely had one too many last night, she couldn’t remember the last time she drank so much. And damn, she forgot how well Sharon could hold her alcohol. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. A note sitting on the coffee table caught her eye.

Nat, I have physical therapy until noon. I know I don’t need to say this, but make yourself at home. I didn’t want to to tell you last night, but you looked dead on your feet. Take a shower. Take a nap. Eat something! Don’t run off before I return. -Share

Natasha lazily got up and made coffee before taking a long hot shower. It had been a while since she had been able to take her time and get ready without the pressure of having to be somewhere or looking over her shoulder. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she even took a decent shower. The night before her last mission? She savored the hot water until it ran cold. Sharon won’t appreciate the next water bill, but she’ll understand it.

She took advantage of the washer and dryer for the few clothes that were salvageable and tossed the rest in the trash. She ate a large bowl of cereal which she hadn’t done in ages and sat down to watch crappy TV. It felt foreign to be sitting on a couch and watching TV. Natasha grumbled to herself when her phone rang. She begrudgingly got off the couch to grab it from where it was charging on the counter.

“Hello?” She sighed.

“It’s me. We lost him. I’m heading home in the next few hours.” It was Steve. “Sam says hi.”

“Another lead will pop up. I hear the CIA is trying to keep a watch on him. I’m sure they will get a lead on him and you’ll be running off to find him again.”

“The CIA? Why would they suddenly be interested?” She could hear Sam asking about the CIA in the background.

“I don’t know, maybe because S.H.I.E.L.D. is rebuilding, the Avengers have bigger villains to worry about, and Hydra agents are still out there.” She said rather sarcastically. “I don’t blame them for trying to keep tabs on him. You know he’s dangerous, Steve.”

“He’s scared and confused.” Steve bit back.

“Which makes him dangerous.” She paused. “As far as I know, they are only gaining intel. They are not looking to engage him unless necessary. I hear the agent in charge is pretty level-headed so you shouldn’t have much to worry about, especially if you ever meet face to face.” She smirked to herself.

“You’re not telling me something.” He stated firmly. 

“Don’t worry too much about the the CIA, Rogers.” Natasha eyed a picture on the fridge. If she had to guess, it was Sharon dressed up like her Aunt Peggy for Halloween.

“Where are you?” He asked suddenly.

“Visiting a friend.” The door opened and Nat turned to see Sharon. Sharon gave a small wave before heading to the bathroom. “So, did you go on that date yet?” Sharon appeared suddenly in the doorway. She pointed at Nat in warning.

“I might have mucked that one up.” Steve said quietly. She could hear Sam in the background again, this time talking about how he told Steve to get on it before he ruined his chances.

“I’m sure if you just call and apologize, everything will turn out fine. Besides, she’s a Carter, I’m pretty sure it’s a sin to be mad at Captain America.” 

‘I’m going to kill you.’ Sharon mouthed. Nat smiled and turned her back to Sharon.

“I have to go. See you later.” Natasha hung up before he could get another word in.

“Must you meddle?” Sharon sighed.

“Meddling is the best part!” Natasha exclaimed as she plopped back down on the couch.

Natasha ended up staying through the weekend. The two spent Saturday shopping like two normal women. Sharon helped Natasha replace her mission clothing as well as pick out more ‘diplomatic’ clothing for times she had to meet with foreign leaders with the Avengers. Natasha insisted on helping Sharon pick out more ‘sexy’ clothes in case she ever got that date. After shopping they headed to the shooting range to decide who got to pay the bar tab that night. Sharon won on a technicality.

Sunday was spent eating brunch and drinking mimosas while relaxing on the couch before Natasha had to pack up. She was going to stay with the Barton’s for a few days and babysit for a much needed date night. Sharon offered to drive her, but Clint was already on his way to pick her up. When he arrived, Sharon walked Natasha down and gave Clint a wave before hugging Nat.

“Seriously, you are welcome to use my apartment any time. I slipped a key in your bag.” Sharon insisted.

“I know. Call me when you get that date.” Nat threw her bag in the backseat of the car.

“I don’t think there’s going to be one.” Sharon sighed.

“He’ll ask again. I know he will.” 

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll say yes.” Nat stared at her a moment before nodding her head in understanding.

“Next time we’re sparring, not shooting, over who pays the tab.” She slipped into the car and slammed the door.

“Deal.” Sharon smiled.

“Thanks again.” She nodded at Clint who pulled away down the street. Nat watched Sharon retreat back into her building from the side mirror. “Damnit Rogers.” She muttered under her breath.

—

Steve sat at his desk, staring at his phone. It had been almost a month since he had taken Sharon home from the hospital and asked her to coffee. Almost a month since he left her the message, promising to call while he was away. Almost a month. He felt like a jerk. How could he have not called? The one girl he’s finally interested in and he potentially blew it. 

He got so wrapped up in trailing Bucky that he had forgotten he had a life back home. That Bucky wasn’t the only one he cared about nowadays. Even Wanda was a little peeved that he hadn’t checked in with the Avengers much when he was gone.

He had remembered to call Peggy though and Sharon probably knew it. She probably knew the second he called and waited by the phone for him to call her. He never did. In his defense, Sam had stormed into their motel room announcing that Bucky was spotted in the farmers market down the street right after he called Peggy. But it was just an excuse. He should have remembered to call her. Yeah… he blew it.

He continued to stare at the phone. He knew this call could go horribly, but Natasha did say if he called and apologized, it might just turn out okay. Maybe she knew more than she was letting on. Maybe she had talked to Sharon. He was pretty sure that Natasha and Sharon’s relationship was deeper than they let on. Why else had she been encouraging him to ask her out for so long?

“Here.” Steve’s thoughts were interrupted suddenly by Sam shoving a phone to his ear. He nearly dropped it when he heard a dial tone. “Now you can’t talk yourself out of calling her.”

“How did you get her num-“

“Hello?” Sharon’s familiar soft voice cut him off. Sam laughed as he left the room. Steve stood up suddenly and started pacing. 

“Sharon. Hi, it’s me. Steve Rogers. Captain… America.” He finished lamely. He put a hand over his eyes in embarrassment. Sam’s laugh echoed loudly.

“Steve. Hi. How are you?”

“I’m good. I just got back from my trip yesterday. How are you? How’s the healing process?” He continued to pace slowly, his nerves making it impossible to sit down.

“I’m good. I’m all healed up except my wrist that got sprained in physical therapy. Another week or two though and I should be completely back to normal.” She replied.

“That’s great.” HIs mouth was dry and he couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say.

There was a long awkward pause. “Well, if that’s all, I really should be going, I have to get back to work.”

“No!” He blurted suddenly. “No, I uh, I wanted to apologize for not calling. I made a promise and I feel awful for not keeping it. I guess I got a little too wrapped up in my mission.”

“It’s alright. I get it. I’ve been there.” Steve sighed, maybe this was going to be okay. “You get so wrapped up in the mission, you forget you have a life back home. You’re mission becomes your life.” 

“Thanks for understanding. I was wondering if you wanted to finally go get that cup of coffee?” He held his breath.

“Oh.” She said softly. “I actually don’t think that’s such a good idea right now.” His stomach dropped. “I’m really busy at work with my new assignment and I’m going into the field next week for a new mission. And you seem so busy. I just don’t think now is the best time.” He had to give it to her, she was great at letting him down easy.

“I understand. Well, I should let you get back to work.”

“It was good to hear from you, Steve.”

“You too.” The line went dead. His shoulders slumped as he sighed in defeat. He fucked up. Sam appeared in the doorway.

“So when’s the date?” He asked smugly. Steve grumbled and brushed past him. He needed to go for a run.

“There isn’t one.” Steve said simply.

“Damn. I’m sorry man.”

—

Sharon hung up the phone and tossed it away from her. She buried her face in her hands. She had done it. She turned Steve down…again. Part of her was telling her it was the right thing to do. That she was busy. That he couldn’t bother to call the first time, who’s to say he would the next time he ran off to find Bucky? That her and Steve were a mess, a mess that could never be.

However, the other part of her was screaming that this was a mistake. That she liked him and should give him a chance. That maybe, just maybe, they could have a chance… you know, after a long and awkward conversation involving their lies and her Aunt.

No. She sat up in her chair and took a deep breath. This was for the best. Her phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam. 

Romanoff is the one that likes to meddle and give her opinion, but damn, that was cold Carter.

She moaned and dropped her head back into her hands.


	9. Chapter 9

“Sharon, darling?” Sharon blinked her world into focus and shifted her eyes back to her Aunt Peggy. “Sharon?” 

Sharon gave a small smile. “I’m sorry Aunt Peg. I didn’t mean to drift off on you.”

“Is everything alright?” She reached for Sharon’s hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Yes, I’ve just got a lot on my mind with work. I’m leaving tomorrow on assignment and to be honest, I’m a little nervous after what happened last time.” 

Peggy gave her a small smile. “It’s alright to be nervous, even if it is just a little. It’s that piece of fear that keeps us rational and clear-headed while out there. When you get arrogant is when you get sloppy and someone gets hurt.”

“Thank you.” Sharon kissed her hand. Her phone buzzed suddenly. Work. “I’ll be right back.” Peggy nodded in understanding before she stepped into the hallway. It was her boss. He confirmed her 7:15am flight to London. Her hotel was booked and the London office was picking her up at the airport to brief her and her partner and set them up with equipment. Five minutes later she hung up. 

“Are you my nurse?” Sharon froze at Peggy’s words as she slipped back into her bedroom. 

Sharon choked down her rising emotions, “No.” She answered softly, her hand still on the doorknob. “Would you like me to get her?” Peggy stared at her with unrecognizing eyes.

“Yes, thank you.” Sharon gave her a small smile before shutting the door and stepping out into the living room. Mary looked up at her from her spot on the couch. Sharon shook her head simply before gathering her things and heading out the door. She needed to get out of there.

Sharon sat in her car for a long time, staring at the nursing home. She watched as family and friends entered. Some took their loved ones out for the day, others sat in the front garden and chatted. She missed the days when her and Aunt Peggy would sit in the garden for hours and chat. The days when Peggy simply forgot minor details of things; that she had already complimented Shaon on her outfit or that she had already asked about work. Hot tears fell from her eyes. She was hoping to be back within a week, but it didn’t stop her from worrying what state Peggy would be in. It was getting rare to catch her on a good day.

A small knock sounded on her passenger window causing her to jump. She groaned to herself when she saw Steve standing at the window. She wiped her tears quickly and unlocked her door. He stood for a moment before stepping quietly into the car. He definitely had seen her crying. He slipped his hand into hers silently and sat, watching the nursing home with her. 

Sharon didn’t know what to do. She was half annoyed to see Steve, yet half relieved. They definitely had a lot to talk about and if he was bitter about her turning him down, he wasn’t showing it. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He just sat there, patiently waiting for her speak first. What ever was between them, he was putting aside to just be here with her. To comfort her. She glanced at their joined hands. His hand was large and warm in hers and it felt so… right.

She finally plucked up the courage to break the silence. “I was sitting with her, we were talking like normal.” He watched her as she spoke, but she couldn’t face him. She stared forward at the garden. “I got a call from work. I wasn’t gone more than five minutes. When I came back she asked, ‘Are you my nurse?’” A fresh batch of tears swelled in her eyes. “I’ve had days where she’s mistaken me for my mom or thought I should have been younger, but I’ve never had her forget who I was.” She paused. “Five minutes. Five minutes was all it took for her to go from being clear and in the present to not even knowing who I was.” She pulled her hand from Steve’s and wiped her remaining tears before finally turning towards him. 

“I’m sorry.” He finally said softly. Sharon gave him a small smile. 

“Steve, about the other day when you called.” 

He held up a hand to stop her. “You don’t have to explain yourself.” 

How was he always so goddamn polite? “I just…” She paused, words failing her. “Thank you, for sitting here with me.”

“You’re welcome. I’m always here if you need me.” And he meant it, she could see it in his eyes. 

“I know.” She stared at him, lost in his pure honesty until her phone beeped. She glanced at it. “I don’t mean this to sound rude, but… I should go. I leave tomorrow for London and I’ve already spent too much time blubbering here in my car.” He nodded in understanding.

He stared back out toward the front of the building. “Do you think I should go in?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

Steve gave one last nod before stepping out of the car. “Steve?” He caught the door before it shut and leaned down to peek back inside. “Thank you.” She said honestly. He smiled before shutting the door and heading toward the building.

—

Sharon was exhausted. Her long flight had been bumpy which made reading over the details of their assignment barely manageable. It also didn’t help that her partner, Richards, had spent 2 hours of the flight throwing up. Sharon’s stomach turned just thinking about it. 

They had made it to London and were met on the tarmac and ushered into a black SUV. They were briefed in the car and driven to their hotel. Sharon and Richards lugged two suitcases and carry-on bags into the lobby to check-in and then shortly after up to their room. They were posing as a married couple on vacation. They dumped their bags upon entering the room. 

They were staying in one of the nicest rooms in the hotel, only four rooms down from their target. It was large with a living area, kitchenette, stocked mini-bar, bedroom, and bathroom. Plus an added bonus of a small balcony. Richards and Sharon had already argued over Richards insisting on sleeping on the couch.

“Okay, Baumert is set to check-in early at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning. His security will check him in and do a sweep of the room before they go back to the lobby to escort him upstairs.” Richards said as he popped open a beer from the mini-fridge.

“I’ll greet him at the elevators as concierge and feel out his day.” Sharon added as she kicked off her shoes. “After that, we will set up shop here in the room.”

“If our intel is correct, he will have a meeting at noon. While he’s gone, I’ll bug his room and computer while you monitor that our bugs are operational.” Richards finished.

“Then we sit back and listen in for the next few days and see what dirt we can find.”

“We know he still reaches out to his Hydra contacts and if we’re lucky he will reach out to a few here in London.” Richards concluded. 

“Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” Sharon muttered under her breath. It wasn’t the most glamorous mission, but if they gained enough intel, it could open them up to a lot of known Hydra agents and maybe even a base. 

Sharon grabbed their shared luggage and her carry-on and tossed them on the bed before rifling through them for clothes and toiletries. Richards grabbed the other suitcase and tucked it into the closet. No one in the lobby had suspected that the young American couple was hauling around a suitcase of spy equipment and computers.

“I’m going to take a shower if you want to order room service.” Richards nodded as she entered the bathroom.

“Sure thing Boss.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Security cleared the room, they are headed down now to get Baumert.” Richard’s voice spoke into Sharon’s earpiece.

“I’m in position to intercept.” Sharon watched as Baumert’s security exited the elevators and headed out the main doors. Sharon straightened her pencil skirt and unbuttoned the top few buttons of her shirt. She quickly swiped her lips one last time with red lipstick before tossing it in the trash and turning the corner.

“Moving to intercept.” Sharon strutted toward Baumert, her heels clicking loudly against the tile floor. Baumert was a fairly attractive middle-aged man. He had slicked back brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a sharp suit and strutted around as if he was the most attractive man in the world. It must be a Hydra thing.

“Mr. Baumert.” His security moved to confront Sharon, but Baumert waved them off. Sharon saw his eyes flash down her body and back up. She stretched out a perfectly painted hand to greet him. “Clara Monroe, Head of Concierge.”

He took her hand gently and kissed it. “I wanted to introduce myself formally.” She procured a business card for him. “If you need anything during your stay, I will see to it personally.”

He flashed her a bright smile and tucked the card in his pocket. “Thank you, Clara.” There’s the arrogance, thinking it’s charming to use her first name. 

“Would you like any lunch or dinner recommendations for today? Or perhaps a recommendation for any tourist sites?” 

“If I say yes, will you join me?” He asked with a confident laugh.

“Cocky bastard.” Richards muttered in her ear.

“Unfortunately, not today.” She answered politely.

“How about a lunch recommendation? I’m to meet an old friend and it’s my choice.”

“Of course. There’s a small Italian cafe about half an hour from here if you don’t mind the drive.”

“Italian it is! 12 o’clock?”

“Perfect. I’ll set the reservation and give the directions to your driver. Be sure to select the house red wine.” 

Baumert reached for her hand and kissed it again. “Thank you Clara.”

“My pleasure Mr. Baumert. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.” She squeezed his hand lightly and gazed straight into his eyes, “Anything at all.” She gave one last nod before heading in the opposite direction of him. Baumert stood awestruck for a few moments before heading upstairs to his room.

“Way to reel him in.” Richards commented.

—

“If he doesn’t call in the next hour, I’m pulling the fire alarm.”

Baumert had arrived back at the hotel around 3 o’clock, long after they had broken into his room and bugged it. They currently sat in front of multiple computers monitoring his actions. He had made two unimportant phone calls and that was it. They were getting bored and anxious. Baumert had taken his laptop to lunch with him and had been on and off it all afternoon. They were anxiously waiting for him to leave his room or call for concierge so they had a reason to get back in there and bug it.

“If he doesn’t call, we’ll sneak in tonight when he’s sleeping.” Sharon said calmly.

“Wait, he’s calling someone.” Richards perked up. “Recording.”

The phone next to Sharon suddenly rang. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Not recording.” He forcibly pressed a button on the keyboard and sat back in his chair.

“Clara Monroe, how may I assist you?”

“Clara! Vincent Baumert.”

“Mr. Baumert, how was lunch?” 

“Fantastic, thank you for the recommendation. I was wondering if I could get another one?”

“Of course Mr Baumert, anything you need.”

“I do love a good scotch. What would you recommend to have delivered to my room?”

Richards pointed to the security feed where Baumert’s security guards were standing outside his room then to their room which was in view of the guards. Sharon turned away from him and began gathering items of clothing. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll send up my personal favorite.” She hung up and began shoving items into a large tote bag.

“Guess it’s go-time.” Richards moved to start changing. 

Ten minutes later, Sharon was dressed sharply in a tight black dress and pumps. Her lips were painted red again and hair sitting in a loose, curly bun. Richards followed behind her dressed as an employee of the hotel as they rounded the corner to Baumert’s room. It had all been too easy to pose as a married couple and exit their room to the elevators without a second glance from Baumert’s security. They went down to the lobby, bought the most expensive bottle of scotch, on the CIA’s dime, stole a serving tray and glass from the bar and headed back to the elevators. They changed into their new outfits in the elevator while jamming the security feed and exited as Clara Monroe and employee.

Baumert’s security stopped them and patted them down for weapons. Sharon said a small thank you as she was escorted into the room. Baumert stood immediately, a huge smile on his face. “Clara! What a surprise. Charles, you’re excused.” His security nodded and exited. He reached to kiss her hand. Richards rolled his eyes.

“I figured if I was going to recommend my personal favorite, I should deliver it myself.” She nodded at Richards. He moved to the small table where Baumert’s computer sat and began pouring two glasses. 

Sharon turned back to Baumert and smiled. “I must say, this is probably my favorite room in the hotel.” She moved to the balcony, diverting Baumert away from his computer. She threw open the double doors and reached for Baumert’s hand. “Join me, I want to show you the view.” Baumert took her hand without question as she stepped onto the balcony. Sharon glanced behind her shoulder to see Richards sticking a drive into the computer. 

“Such a beautiful view of the city. So much history to see and you have the perfect view. Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the Thames.” Richards handed them their drinks. “Should we toast?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“To beautiful views.” He took a step toward her. Sharon gave a small nod before taking a small sip. She watched Baumert over her glass. He must think he’s God’s gift to women. She hated having to throw herself at him.

He smacked his lips. “I see why it’s your favorite.” Richards made a motion to stall over Baumert’s shoulder.

“Vincent.” She set her glass down and stepped into him, putting her hands on his tie. “May I?” He nodded dumbly. She slowly adjusted his tie, leaning in so close she could kiss him if she had too. “Tricky little buggers, aren’t they?” She whispered. His voice caught in his throat. She felt his free hand rest on her lower back. He was trying to get his wits about him to make a bold move, she could see it in his eyes. Richards pulled the drive from the computer and cleared his throat loudly, startling Baumert. 

“Drinks are on me tonight.” She whispered in Baumert’s ear before stepping away from him so quickly he swayed on the spot. She moved to the door and lingered, hand on the handle, to turn back to face Vincent Baumert. He was standing, rather transfixed, in the doorway of the balcony, still trying to register what was happening. “You have my number if you need anything else.” She gave him one last sultry smile before exiting the room, Richards at her heels. They had taken no more than four steps before a large crash sounded behind them in Baumerts room. Sharon and Richards turned to see Baurmert’s security throw open the door and enter. Sharon recognized the quiet sounds of a silencer before the sickening sound of a body hitting the floor. Richards ran down the hall to their room and threw it open. Sharon sidled up to the wall outside Baumert’s room. Richards tossed her a gun as he came back out. Sharon peaked around the door before entering, arms raised.

The balcony doors were shattered. Baumert’s security were lying dead on the floor. A strangled cry sounded from her left and she turned to find Baumert being held by the throat against the wall by a man. His head was shielded by a black hood.

“CIA, arms in the air!” Richards yelled. The man turned and recognition sparked in her eyes. Baumert fell to the ground as the man turned and took a step forward. “Hands up!” His gun sounded. One. Two. Sharon watched as the intruder raised his metal arm to block the shots before running forward and knocking Richards out in one hit. Sharon pointed her gun at his head. He was just out of arms reach.

“Sergeant Barnes.” Sharon said softly. Her hands were shaking. She knew if he came at her, she was no match for him. “I’m Agent 13 with the CIA. Please, let’s just ta-“ His face contorted as he lurched forward, knocking her gun out of her hand and shoving her back against the wall. His metal arm came to her throat and clamped around it tightly.

Sharon gasped as her hands came to meet his at her throat. She tried to pry his fingers from her, but his grip only tightened. “Who are you?” His hood had fallen off, giving her full view of his face. 

“Agent 13.” She rasped.

His face contorted in rage. He lifted her in protest, forcing her onto her tip-toes. “Your name.”

Sharon struggled against him. She could feel panic setting in as she struggled for breath. “Car-“ She wheezed. “Carter.” She gasped. “Sharon Carter.” Something flickered in his eyes.

“Why are you here?”

“Ba- Baumert. Hydra. Trying-“ She couldn’t breathe. She was struggling to stay on her toes. “Please.” His gripped lessened enough for her to take a deep breath. “We’re trying to,” she gasped, “find evidence on Hydra.” His eyes bore into her. “We’re not here for you.” 

He dropped her suddenly. Sharon crumpled to the floor. She coughed trying to fill her lungs again with air. He bent down to her. “Explain.”

“I’m Agent Sharon Carter.” She rubbed her neck gingerly. “I used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, I’m head of a special task force within the CIA that is in charge of finding and gathering evidence on Hydra agents. Specifically, we are in charge of finding agents who potentially worked with the Winter Soldier.” His fist tightened at his name. “We are trying to neutralize anyone who would be a threat to recapturing you and programming you to assassinate again. Baumert is our current target.” 

At his name, Baumert made a move to get up. Barnes strode over to him, pulling a gun from his waist and pointing it down at Baumert. “No!” Sharon shouted as she stumbled to her feet. “Please. Sergeant Barnes, I need him alive.” His eyes never wavered from Baumert. “James.” His lips tightened before he angled the gun and shot Baumert in the knee. Sharon flinched as Baumert screamed in agony. Barnes advanced on Sharon again, shoving her against the wall with both hands. Her head bashed against the wall causing stars to flash across her vision.

“You know me.” 

Sharon nodded. “I was there, the night you attacked Nicolas Fury at Captain Roger’s place. And I’ve seen your file.”

“No.” 

“My Aunt.” She finally gasped. “My Aunt is Peggy Carter.” His eyes flashed. “She knew you during the war.”

His face contorted and for a moment she thought he was going to kill her. He shoved off her hard and slipped his hood back over his head. He looked back at her one last time before striding onto the balcony and slipping out of sight.


	11. Chapter 11

Over 48 hours later, Sharon found herself pulling onto the familiar street of her apartment. After calling in the incident at the hotel to the CIA, she spent ten minutes waking up Richards and helping him gather his senses while Baumert cursed them from the corner. She was then escorted, with much protesting, downstairs to the awaiting ambulance where she, Richards, and Baumert were all taken to the closest hospital. She begrudgingly let them fit her in a neck brace and grumbled her way through a series of tests to check her neck and spine. 

She was finally released and given pain meds for her swollen and bruised neck and shoulders. Richards was released with a concussion and the two were ushered back to the office for a de-briefing. Sharon’s throat was sore and she struggled for hours to talk and relay her story. When her superiors finally felt satisfied, she and Richards were driven to the airport where their luggage was already waiting for them on the tarmac. They collapsed into their seats on the plane in exhaustion. Sharon spent the entire flight dozing in and out and actually wished for a neck brace because every time she bent it to get comfortable, she was in excruciating pain. At one point she attempted to get out of her dress, but her muscles ached and she couldn’t bend them back far enough to unzip it. She finally gave up and returned to her seat.

She pulled out her phone to message Natasha. 

S: It’s me.  
N: It’s safe to text freely.  
S: I understand now how you felt after you took on Barnes.  
N: He was there?  
S: Almost killed our target and me. My name triggered his memory.  
N: Rogers wants to believe he is remembering, but there’s no way of knowing until he is detained and psychologically evaluated.  
S: Maybe he is. He did save Steve after the Triskelion fell. And something triggered enough in him to listen to me.  
N: How much damage did he do?  
S: Killed some security. Shot our target in the knee. Did some damage to the building.  
N: And you?  
S: I’m okay. Just really sore.  
N: You said he almost killed you.  
S: I’ll tell you another time. Don’t worry about me.  
N: Stay safe.

Sharon almost shot someone in frustration when they finally landed and her boss was waiting to escort them to Headquarters. They spent another 6 hours debriefing before they were finally sent home.

“Thank you.” Sharon said as she stepped out of the cab and onto the curb in front of her apartment. She hauled her suitcase out of the trunk and slammed it with the little strength she had left in her body. She was still in her black dress and heels and all she wanted was a hot shower and sleep. It was almost midnight and thankfully she had the next three days off. 

“Sharon.” She practically jumped out of her skin at her name.

“Steve.” She turned, keys in hand, to see him standing at the bottom of her stoop. “What?”

He shuffled his feet, hands in pockets. He looked nervous. “I… Natasha called. She said you were headed home and that you had a rough mission. She’s tied up in New York and asked if I would stop by and… check on you.”

Sharon stared at him for a moment before nodding. She should have known Natasha would send someone to check on her. And she should have known it would be Steve. She’s such a meddler.

“How-“ She tried to clear her throat. “How long-“ Her voice was weak and scratchy.

“Not long.” He caught onto what she was trying to ask. “I’ve been hanging out at Sam’s place. Let me help you.” He grabbed her bag as she unlocked the door and slowly led him up to her apartment.

“This is a nice building. I sometimes miss our old one.” Steve commented. Sharon smiled and let him into her unit She flicked on the lights and shrugged out of her jacket and scarf. Steve set her suitcase against the wall just inside the door before shutting and locking it. 

“How about I make us a cup of tea while you-“ He stopped suddenly, his eyes landing on Sharon’s exposed shoulders and neck. She knew how she looked. Her hair was a tangled mess of curls. Her make up was smudged and face oily. Her shoulders were turning black and blue along with her neck where a handprint was visible amongst the bruises. She was a mess.

Steve’s face hardened and anger flashed in his eyes. “Who did this to you?”

“I-“ She coughed. “My voice.” She wheezed. She slipped out of her heels and crossed to the fridge. She grabbed a notepad off the side and sharpie from her junk drawer.

Throat is swollen. I’ll tell you about the mission later. She held up the note for Steve to read. His face softened.

“I’m sorry.” He stepped toward her and made a motion to touch her shoulder before deciding against it. “How about I start a kettle while you go wash up.” He gave a small smile. Sharon nodded in return. She brushed past him to grab her suitcase and head to her room. She dropped it in the corner. She’d unpack later. She grabbed a fresh set of comfortable clothes before heading to the bathroom. She frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Why did she always look terrible every time Steve was around? She turned away and moved to unzip her dress. She hissed in pain. Her zipper was at the base of her neck and on a good day was tricky to unzip alone. With her sore arms and neck, she knew it was going to be near impossible. She chewed her lip for a few moments before sighing and stepping out of the bathroom. 

Steve was rummaging through her cupboards. He stopped when he saw her in the doorway. “I… dress.” She motioned to her zipper. 

Steve’s face flushed and he cleared his throat. “Sure.” He moved around the counter and met her at the bathroom door. She turned and swept her hair from her neck. She could feel Steve’s hands nervously fumble with the zipper. She smiled to herself. “Done.”

“Thanks.” She caught his eye causing him to look away. She stepped back into the bathroom and slipped out of her dress. She turned on the shower and brushed out her hair before stepping under the hot water. Her body instantly relaxed. She slowly and gingerly washed her hair and body, not wanting to leave the warmth of the water. When she finally turned off the tap, her neck and shoulders were still achingly sore. She was ready to curl up in bed. She dried off quickly and groaned her way through dressing.

“Sharon?” Steve knocked at the door. “No rush. I just wanted to let you know I put a glass of water and your next dose of pain meds on your bedside table and the tea is ready when you are.”

Sharon stared at the tank top in her hands. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get it over her head. She already asked Steve to help her with her zipper, did she really want to ask him for this? No. No, she didn’t. She was a strong, independent, kick-ass woman who did not want to ask for this favor. But unless she wanted to hang out in her bra all night, she didn’t have much of an option.

She sidled up to the door, resting her head against it. “Steve?” Her voice shook.

“Is everything okay in there?” Tears swelled suddenly in her eyes. She took a large, gasping breath as she tried to choke back her sudden emotions. How did she get here again? How did she get hurt and vulnerable again? And why did Steve have to be here taking care of her? Why did he have to be so goddamn nice even after she turned him down?

She paused before opening the door. “Um.” She looked down at her bare feet.

Steve swallowed hard, trying not to stare at Sharon in her bra. His eyes surveyed her toned figure before finally settling on the shirt in her hands. She looked back up at him, her eyes glassy with tears. She needed help, but couldn’t bring herself to ask. Steve took the shirt from her hands silently. He brushed past her into the bathroom to grab the tube of muscle soother Sharon abandoned on the counter. He grabbed her hand gently and led her to the couch.

Sharon sat, her eyes watching him as he set her shirt down on the coffee table before opening the tube of soother. She turned, not knowing what to say. She felt his hand sweep her hair off her neck before his hands gently began to rub her shoulders, back, and neck. Her body instinctively relaxed against his warm hands. Butterflies were swarming in her stomach and she couldn’t remember when she had done something this intimate with a man in her life. Sure, she had dated and made love to a few of them, but never had she felt so vulnerable yet so comfortable in a single moment of her life. Never had she let a man take care of her the way Steve was now. 

He wiped his hands before helping her slowly into her her tank top. Her cheeks were burning from embarrassment and awkwardness. He smiled at her gently as she adjusted her shirt over her stomach. “Thanks.” She whispered. She squeezed his hands to emphasize how much she appreciated him in this moment. Her heart leapt in her throat as his blue eyes bore into hers. His thumb was absentmindedly rubbing her hand. Just as he seemed to be leaning in, the kettle whistled suddenly. 

Steve sprang back from her and cleared his throat. “I’ll pour you a cup.” Sharon nodded as she slowly followed him to the kitchen. “I made you camomile. I figured it would help you relax and sleep tonight.” He passed over a steaming mug. Sharon murmured a soft ‘thank you’ as she wrapped her hands around the warm mug and took a small sip. 

They sat for another half an hour while Sharon sipped her tea. Steve chatted for the both of them. He told her about the progress they were making with the Avengers and the crazy new technology Tony was coming up with. He told her he had crossed more off of his list including watching Star Wars and eating Thai food. He talked about the different music Sam was recommending to him. He then went into great detail about all the 90’s boy bands Barton keeps recommending and he unfortunately keeps falling for. Sharon laughed so hard it threw her into a coughing fit which made Steve apologize profusely.

When Sharon finally finished her tea, it was a little after one in the morning. Her eyes were starting to feel heavy and she was ready for bed. Steve announced it was time for him to go as he took her mug and set it in the sink. She walked him to the door and leaned against it. He lingered in his usual awkward way. It was adorable. An idea struck her as she held up a finger for him to wait. She grabbed her notepad and sharpie from the counter and scribbled a quick note. She smiled at him as she slipped the note in his hand, reached up on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. 

“Night.” She smiled at his blushing cheeks and shut the door quietly.

Steve stared at Sharon’s closed door before heading quickly down to his car. He waited until he pulled into Sam’s driveway fifteen minutes later before shutting off the engine and pulling the note from his pocket. He smiled widely.

Note: If it’s not too late, coffee when I get my voice back?  
—  
Sharon lay wide-eyed in bed. Her stomach was turning and she was inwardly cursing herself for writing that note. She was an idiot. She should have known he was only here out of politeness and because Natasha asked him too. She turned him down last time, of course he wouldn’t want to go out with her now. But tonight had been so unexpected. He had been so kind and sensitive. She was sure there had been a connection, but maybe it was just him being the gentleman he was.

Her phone buzzed. It was Steve. She took a deep breath before opening the message. 

Steve: It’s a date.

Sharon smiled to herself as her nerves left her body. She felt like a silly teenager suddenly. She laid back down against her pillows, grinning like an idiot and fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Sharon spent her three days off relaxing and visiting Peggy. When she finally returned to work she found herself buried in paperwork. She slugged her way through it for four days before finally moving on to building her next mission. Her neck and shoulders were finally feeling better and her voice was back. The only evidence left was the ugly greenish-yellow bruises that were still fading.

Steve had been texting her since the night she returned. He was definitely being more diligent about keeping in contact this time around. When Sharon’s day off finally came around, she made sure her schedule was free and that Steve was too.

“You look great.” Steve greeted her as she stepped out of her apartment building. She had opted for a pair of dark skinny jeans, a white mid-sleeve shirt to cover her bruised shoulders, brown booties, and a navy scarf to help conceal her neck.

“Thank you. So do you.” He was in his usual dark jeans, Converse, and a dark gray shirt that hugged every muscle. She forced her eyes to meet his. 

“I hope you don’t mind.” He gestured to the motorcycle sitting by the curb. 

Sharon’s eyes lit up. “Not at all. I haven’t ridden a motorcycle since I was fresh out of the Academy.” She stepped toward the bike, letting her fingers graze the handlebars. “Can we go for a drive later?” She looked up at him, hopeful.

He smiled. “I’d love that.” He hopped onto the bike quickly and revved it while Sharon sidled up behind him. His heart fluttered as her arms wrapped around his middle. “Ready?”

“Always.”

Twenty minutes later they found themselves in a small cafe. Sharon let Steve pick the place knowing he would want somewhere quiet where he wouldn’t be bombarded with starstruck fans. They picked a table in the back near the window. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked as they sat down.

“Better. I got back in the gym yesterday and it felt great to stretch my muscles.” She took a sip of her latte. 

“I remember that after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. It felt great to be back to normal.” They fell into awkward silence.

"It's uh... so..." Steve clear his throat in nervousness. "The weather's great today."

Sharon set her mug down hard, sloshing coffee over the side. Steve looked at her surprised. "This is awkward. Let's just clear the air so we can act like normal people on a date and not talk about the weather."

“Okay.” He answered simply.

“Great, here we go. My Great Aunt is Margaret, Peggy, Carter, one of the Founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the woman you were in love with during the war. Peggy was my mentor and practically raised me. I hid my name all through the Academy so that I was treated equally and could prove my worth without the Carter name. I graduated top of my class and became a spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury personally asked me to go undercover as a nurse to watch over you. Yes, I liked you, but I couldn’t pursue it. After S.H.I.E.L.D. fell I went to work for the CIA because the spy-life is all I know and all I’ve ever wanted.” She paused and looked down at her hands for a moment before meeting his eyes again.

“I’m going to be honest.” He quirked an eyebrow at her statement, she was being pretty damn honest already. “I turned you down that second time because I was mad at you. You asked me out and then I didn’t hear from you. I waited for days and then I found out you called Peggy.”

Steve looked down at his own hands, ashamed. “I know. I was horrible and I should have called.”

“I need to know now if you are going to compare me to Peggy. I know your story and I can’t and won’t compete with it. If we are even going to attempt to be friends, I need to know you will try to see me as someone other than Peggy’s grand niece. And if we are going to attempt to go on dates, I need to know you will make this a priority. You’re an Avenger, I’m a spy, we have a messy history and it’s never going to be normal so we have to both agree that we are going to attempt to be in this mess together.”

He sighed a deep breath. She was not kidding about laying it on the line. “I…” Her eyes were boring into his. “Peggy will always be special to me and have a place in my heart.” Sharon diverted her eyes suddenly. “But she also lived a full life without me and as hard as it was to accept, life went on without me for 70 years. I’m a different person now and for the first time I feel like I actually have a grasp on where my life is going.” He gently took her hand in his. “I would never compare you to Peggy. And to be honest, I liked you before I knew you were related. And I agree, this is going to be a mess, but I want to see where this mess goes.” Sharon gave a small smile and a nod of acceptance.

“I never told her, you know.” He quirked an eyebrow. “About my job protecting you.” He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. “She had so many secrets, I didn’t want her to have one from you.”

“I… Thank you.”

Sharon sighed suddenly and took a long sip of her latte. “Now that that’s taken care of…”

“You want to go for a ride?”

“I thought you’d never ask. Can I drive?”

Steve realized within minutes that he should not have underestimated her driving skills. She revved the engine like a pro and shot down the street like a bullet, weaving in and out of traffic. Her driving reminded him of Natasha… 

Sharon took them out of the city quickly and roared down the less busy highway. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been on a motorcycle, but it felt natural to be back on one. She savored the feeling of her hair blowing in the wind. She felt so relaxed and free. 

Steve sat behind her, holding her hips lightly, not fazed at all by her driving. She could get used to this feeling. She turned down a side street and opened up the bike to the empty road. She drove for another ten minutes before cutting sharply onto a dirt road. The motorcycle jerked and Steve’s arms suddenly tightened around her. Laughter overtook her to the point where she had to slow the bike to a stop. She fell back against Steve, her head falling onto his shoulder as she laughed. When her giggles finally subsided she hopped off the bike and turned to Steve.

“Did I scare you Captain Rogers?” She teased.

He smiled sheepishly, “Only on that last turn. I’m not used to being the passenger.” He stood up, their bodies almost flush against each other.

Sharon wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline, the fresh air, or Steve’s smile, but she suddenly found herself reaching up to grasp him behind the neck and pull his lips down to hers. They were warm and soft and sent shivers down her spine. His hands came to her hips and all worries about the mess they were getting themselves into left her mind. This was pure happiness right here in this moment.

They broke apart and she grinned. She would have felt stupid if Steve wasn't grinning back at her with the same smile. She gave a small laugh.

“Come on, I couldn’t have been that bad.” His smile wavered.

“No! No, you were great.” Her hands were still planted on his shoulders. “It’s just my adrenaline and nerves are going haywire and I just can’t get a grasp on them.”

Steve’s lips were on hers again suddenly. “Me too.” He murmured against her lips.

The rest of the afternoon Steve drove. They stopped at a small burger joint outside the city that Sharon suggested for a late lunch. They sat at a small picnic table out back in the sunshine. This time conversation came easy. They laughed and talked freely as if their awkward talk this morning had never happened. Steve was impressed at how she wolfed down her burger and had no problem getting messy while sharing chili-cheese fries with him. After burgers they headed back to the city. Sharon was mildly disappointed when they finally arrived back at her apartment.

“I’d love to keep you out and take you to dinner,” Sharon quirked an eyebrow, “But I have to be back with the Avengers tonight.” Steve explained. Sharon nodded. She knew their date was only going to last the afternoon, he had told her upfront when they originally set the date.

“It’s alright Cap, I understand. Duty calls.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow?” 

Sharon smiled. “I’d like that.” They stood for a moment before Steve finally leaned in and kissed her. They said their semi-awkward goodbyes and Sharon headed up to her apartment.

The first thing Sharon saw when she entered her apartment was Natasha sitting on her couch, dipping Oreos into a jar of peanut butter.

“That fellow you were kissing outside sure looked a lot like Rogers.”

“What can I say, I have a type.” She threw down her keys and scarf.

“Yeah, tall, blonde, and patriotic.”

Sharon openly laughed as she kicked off her shoes. “Thanks for spying on us.”

“I think the whole building was. It’s hard not to when the ‘National Anthem' plays every time he opens his mouth.”

Sharon grabbed an Oreo and dipped it. “Is it true ‘God Bless America’ plays when he takes off his shirt?”

“It does.” Natasha replied seriously. “And ‘Ice Ice Baby’ starts up when he gets really nostalgic about the war.” She finally cracked and laughed at her own joke.

“So what are you doing here? Steve is headed back now for some official Avengers thing.”

“It’s not until tomorrow morning, but Steve likes to be prepared.”

“Can I ask what the meeting is about?”

“Stark has some new tech he wants to show off and there’s some disturbance overseas that they think is supernatural that they want to brief us on and get our opinion.”

“Some days, I wish the world was normal.” Sharon sighed.

“Me too. But then, where’s the fun in that?” They both laughed.

“So pizza and action movies tonight or the bar?” Sharon suggested.

“Movies.”

“I have the new Star Trek if you want to watch it.”

“I thought that didn’t come out for a few more months?” Nat raised an eyebrow.

“I was able to get an early copy.” Sharon said innocently.

Nat snorted. “You downloaded an illegal copy from the internet, didn't you?”

“No.” Sharon said firmly. “I hacked the system and illegally copied the file straight from the computer it was kept on.” 

Nat laughed. “Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes is getting her hands dirty. How unpatriotic of you.”

Sharon shrugged. “If they didn’t want us to steal it, then they shouldn’t have taught us to hack the most advanced computers in the world.”

“Captain America would disapprove.”

“I can live with that.”


	13. Chapter 13

Steve’s meeting the next morning went smoothly. The Avengers agreed to check out the lead, but since it wasn’t an immediate threat, Tony convinced everyone to set out in two days after his important fundraiser he needed to make an appearance at. Everyone had rolled their eyes. Steve would rather get the job done, but it did free up his next two days. The first thing he did after the meeting was get the jet packed and ready to go in case they had to leave at a moments notice. Everyone grumbled their way through it. Next, Steve called Sharon. Sam gave him a corny thumbs up as the phone rang. Steve regretted not waiting until he was back in his room to call. She agreed to meet him halfway at a small diner off the highway around 8:00pm.

Steve was surprised when he arrived ten minutes early to find Sharon already waiting for him at booth in the corner. From what he could see, she was wearing dark jeans and a fitted black shirt. It was simple, yet she still looked beautiful in Steve’s eyes. She smiled and gave a small wave causing his heart to jump into his throat. 

“Hi, I’m glad you could make it. I’m sorry it was such short notice.”

“I’m glad you called.” She gave him the biggest smile. 

“I’m sorry if the food is terrible, I’ve never been here.”

“Are you kidding me? Diners off the highway usually have the best food. Don’t get me started on the pie.”

Steve smiled, he loved that she wasn’t ashamed of having a big appetite. “Okay, so what looks good?”

“I’m thinking brinner.”

“Brinner?” He was confused.

“It means breakfast for dinner. Brinner.”

“Ah.” He felt his cheeks go warm. “I have not heard that reference.”

“Can I get you two lovebirds something to drink?” Steve’s cheeks darkened as Sharon’s smile widened.

“I’ll take a water to start.” She replied simply to the waitress.

“Water for me too. Thank you.” The waitress smiled and sauntered off to the counter.

Steve felt Sharon’s hand rest on his. “Relax Steve.” He took a deep breath, not realizing his nerves were getting the best of him. 

“So uh…” His mind was completely blank. Their date the day before had been great, but now Steve had no clue what to do. He couldn’t remember a time he ever made it past the first date. His mind went back to the day before. How easy it was to talk. Her laugh, her smile. Kissing her. A new set of nerves set in. So what were the rules on kissing her now? Could he kiss her any time he wanted?

“Hey.” Steve snapped back to reality at Sharon’s soft voice. “I can see your brain going a mile a minute.” 

She slipped out of her side of the booth and scooted in next to him. He was about to ask her what she was doing when she grabbed him by the back of the neck and kissed him softly. “I’m nervous too.” His body relaxed at the warm press of her lips. 

“Feel better?” She slipped back into her side of the booth much to Steve’s disappointment.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I haven’t… dated in a while.”

She smiled. “I haven’t either. Now, what looks good on the menu?”

An hour later, Steve couldn’t remember why he had been so nervous. He hung onto every word Sharon spoke. She talked about growing up knowing she wanted to be a spy and how she got into the Academy without the Carter name. He told her about the many failed attempts at joining the army and how many laws he broke doing it.

“Either of you lovebirds ready for dessert?” The waitress had wandered back over. Steve looked at Sharon, her eyes lit up in excitement.

“Yes.” She answered firmly. She met Steve’s eyes. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pie.”

Steve smiled widely. “Pie it is.”

“Blueberry please and a cup of coffee.” Sharon smiled brightly at the waitress.

“And I’ll take apple and a cup of coffee as well. Thank you.”

“Apple? How traditional of you.” Sharon teased.

“What can I say, I’m old fashioned.” 

Steve lost track of time after that. They slowly ate their pie and drank their coffee while talking and laughing. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be sitting in this diner with Sharon across from him. At times he caught himself just staring at her. The way her eyes lit up, the curve of her smile, the way her curls bounced when she gestured wildly during a story. It reminded him of the times they would talk in the hallway of their old apartment. She was so beautiful.

“Oh my gosh, it’s almost midnight.” Sharon checked her watch. “I should really get going.” 

“Wow, I completely lost track of time.”

“Me too.” She smiled widely. 

“Let me get the check.” He hopped out of the booth before she could protest and paid at the counter. He walked her out to her car slowly, not wanting the evening to end. “Sorry I kept you out so late.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, I had a great time.”

“What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?”

Sharon quirked an eyebrow. “A third date in less than 48 hours?”

Steve gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his neck. “We don’t leave for our mission for another day and I just figured while we both have the time…”

“I’d love to. What do you have in mind?”

“We could try other flavors of pie?”

“The pie was really good… and I did have a hard time choosing between the blueberry and banana cream.” She said in mock seriousness.

“Three o’clock?”

“It’s a date.” Her eyes watched him for a long minute, calculating whether he was going to make the first move this time.

He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her. Her hands came to his neck, pulling him closer as his hands slipped around her waist. 

“I should go.” She murmured against his lips just as they were on the verge of a full make out session. Steve pulled back, not wanting to be anything less than a gentleman. “Thank you for tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good night Sharon.” He gave her one last smile before turning toward his car.

“Fuck it.” Before he could fully turn at Sharon’s quiet cursing her arms were around his neck and lips on his. He stumbled in surprise causing Sharon to fall back against the car.

“Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” And she was pulling him in again. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there making out like a couple of teenagers in the parking lot. He didn’t really care either, he was loving every minute of it. He was almost disappointed when Sharon finally pulled away, giggling and apologizing profusely for jumping him. They said their goodbyes one last time before separating for the night. Steve was giddy the entire way home.

The next morning Steve attempted to avoid Sam, Wanda, and Natasha by hiding out in the jet and ‘checking’ that it was ready to go. He took as many back hallways as possible to avoid them. He should have known he couldn’t escape it when he found Natasha waiting for him in his room.

He sighed. “I know I locked this room.”

“Well you better tell Stark the living quarters are a little too easy to hack.” She smiled coyly. “You got in pretty late last night.”

“What do you want to know?” He swatted her feet off of his desk.

Natasha smiled. “How did it go?”

“It went well.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “And?”

“And it’s none of your business.”

She put her hands up in defense. “Okay, okay, just one question.”

Steve sighed and leaned against the wall. “Shoot.”

“Any funny business?”

“Jesus Nat, we just went for dinner and dessert.” 

“You do know dessert means something different nowadays?” She smiled widely.

Steve frowned. “Yes, I learned that a while ago. But it was just dessert, I was a complete gentleman.”

“And was she a lady?” Steve thought back to Sharon cursing before practically jumping him to kiss him again. Natasha smiled wider at his silence.

“Yes.” He finally answered. “Yes, she was. No more questions.”

She got up, the smile never leaving her face. “Fine. Let me know what color I should wear to the wedding.”

“Nat.” She had already stepped out of the room.

A few hours later Steve found himself back at the diner, this time sitting at the counter with Sharon next to him. Only a handful of people were there and none seemed to recognize who he was. However, this time he did wear a baseball cap to help hide his face.

“Alright Cap, branch out. Try a new flavor.” Sharon teased as she sipped her coffee. “I’m getting banana cream… and maybe a slice of their Boston cream pie as well. No judging.” She quipped before he could comment, he only smiled instead.

“I’m thinking Key Lime and whatever Cookies & Cream pie is.”

“Good because I wanted to try those as well.” She smiled innocently. “Just a bite, I promise.”

They spent the next two hours sharing bites of pie between coffee and conversation. Every once in a while one of them would lean in for a quick kiss and a shy smile. Steve’s heart raced every time Sharon’s hand rested casually on his leg as she leaned into him.

They spent a good amount of their time going through Steve’s notebook. Sharon explained certain shows and movies, giving him enough of an explanation to know if he would be interested it in or not. He wasn’t sure where she found the time to be a film fanatic, but she apparently was. She gave him a whole new list of movies with a promise to help him check some off his list.

The diner started to fill up around 6:00pm meaning their date was at an end. Neither of them needed Steve to be recognized and start a news headline. He held her hand as he walked her to her car.

“I promise not to jump you today.” She laughed. “Thank you for the last few days.” They both knew they may not see each other for a while with Steve’s mission and their crazy work schedules.

“I’ll call you when I get back.” He kissed her softly.

“I’ll answer.”


	14. Chapter 14

It had been three days since Sharon’s last date with Steve at the diner. To say the last three days were stressful would be an understatement. Work was tedious with planning their next overseas Op. Her electricity went out in her apartment for a full day and she lost everything in her fridge. What ever was happening with the Avengers kept Steve and Natasha in minimal contact. And to top it all off, Peggy’s health took a turn for the worse. When she wasn’t working, she was at Peggy’s bedside with Mary. 

She was running on no sleep so when she fell into bed out of exhaustion at midnight, she was less than enthused when her phone rang four hours later. She fumbled for it on her bedside table.

“Carter.”

“We need you to come in, we have a potential global crisis on our hands.”

“I’ll be there in ten.” 

The news broke before she made it into the office. When she arrived on her floor she found her co-workers all standing before their wall of screens. Every Avenger was being broadcast across the world in all different languages. Sharon tried to piece together what exactly was happening. No network was close enough to know the extent of the situation.

“Avengers were called to Turkey to check out a lab that was experimenting in the paranormal. When they arrived, they were met with inhumans that Hydra had been experimenting on.” Sharon’s eyes scanned the screens, no one was close enough to the action to make out anything other than fighting and the iconic outfits of the Avengers. Her stomach felt queasy watching all the jerky camera movements.

“It also seems that Hydra has been building their own Artificial Intelligence based off of the Ultron incident. Except, they mastered to control it.” He pointed to a screen where a large metal man was fighting Iron Man.

“What’s the plan?”

“Nothing yet. The FBI, Military and us are all on standby with the President. Berlin will be called in before us.” Sharon nodded.

After an hour of watching shoddy camera footage, Sharon’s nerves were still on edge. She had to walk away. She buried herself in paperwork until her phone rang.

“Carter.”

“Sharon, it’s Mary.” Sharon’s blood went cold. “I think it’s almost time. She’s asking for you.”

“I’ll be there soon.” She stood up quickly, leaving everything on her desk as-is. She told her boss she was leaving and left no room for argument before bolting out the door.

When Sharon arrived at the nursing home, Mary was waiting for her outside Peggy’s door. Sharon’s stomach dropped.

“Is she?”

“She’s resting.” Mary reassured her. “Sharon, her body is starting to shutdown. She’s going to start getting more and more tired and eventually she will pass in her sleep. She’s been lucid the last few hours and asking for you.” “Did you get ahold of my parents? They are still in Italy on vacation.”

“Yes. They want to be here, but by the time they would get here she will probably be gone. They are getting the first flight to London so they can start arrangements. Your Aunt and Uncle are headed to DC now from Arizona.” Sharon nodded numbly. “Go on.”

Sharon stepped slowly into the suite. The TV was on and images of the Turkey incident were playing. She slipped off her heels at Peggy’s room and entered quietly. Everything was the same as it always was. The TV was quietly playing classic black and white movies; Peggy’s favorite. Sharon set her bag down next to the chair by Peggy’s bed. She moved silently to the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and sweater that she stored there for days she came straight from work. She changed quietly and was surprised to find Peggy awake when she turned back to her.

“Sharon.” Sharon sat quickly and grabbed Peggy’s outstretched hand. “I’m so happy you are here.”

“Hi Aunt Peggy. How are you feeling?” She asked softly.

“Old and tired.” Sharon smiled. “I’m so tired.”

“I know Aunt Peg. You can take a nap if you would like.”

“No, I have too much to say first. I don’t want to drift away before I get the chance.” Sharon felt tears sting her eyes. “I have a favor to ask you.”

“Anything.”

“Look after Steve for me.” That wasn’t what she was expecting, but she wasn’t necessarily surprised either. “He’s all alone in our world. He needs someone to watch out for him.”

“Aunt Peggy, I have something to tell you.” She had never been so nervous to tell Peggy something in her life. “Steve… I… Steve and I…” Her words caught in her throat as Peggy’s eyes bore into hers. Peggy gave a small smile and patted Sharon’s hand.

“I understand.” 

“Are you angry with me?”

“Of course not, darling.” She squeezed Sharon’s hand. “We can’t help who we love, Sharon. Steve and I had our chance a long time ago. I lived a long life with your Uncle full of love and happiness and that’s all I could ever hope for you. My only regret is that I won’t get to see you fall in love and marry the man of your dreams.”

The sob Sharon was holding back emerged from her chest. The tears she was fighting fell in full force. She lost complete control of her emotions. “What am I going to do without you? You’re my everything. Everything I have ever accomplished happened because of you.”

Peggy smiled as she wiped Sharon’s cheek. “I may have bought you your first thigh holster, but you got into the Academy all on our own. You’ve been doing things on your own since you were a little girl. You’ve always been independent and stuck to your morals, even if it meant disagreeing with me on occasion.” Sharon gave a small laugh. Peggy squeezed her hand. “You are going to be just fine.”

“I love you, Aunt Peg.”

“I love you too, my darling Sharon.” Her eyes slipped shut and a crease of worry came across her brow. “I’m so tired.”

“I know Aunt Peg. Why don’t you take a nap?” Peggy’s eyes met hers again.

“Will you sit with me?”

“Always.” Sharon kissed her cheek gently.

Margaret Carter never awoke from her nap. Sharon sat with her until the end. She silently watched the dull classic movies. Mary checked in on her often and suggested she take a nap on the couch, but Sharon politely declined. Her Aunt and Uncle made it in time to sit with her in the end. It wasn’t until 11:43pm that Peggy passed peacefully in her sleep. 

Mary and the nursing home staff were wonderful. They each offered Sharon their condolences. Sharon made the necessary calls from the staff office while her Aunt and Uncle started on the paperwork. She made arrangements to come back and pack up Peggy’s things for the following week. 

When she was finally done, she stepped back into Peggy’s room to collect her things, nothing felt the same. It felt like stepping into a stranger’s home. She stood in the empty bedroom and let the silence engulf her. 

“Sharon?” She turned at Mary’s soft voice. She was holding a stack of picture frames. “Your Aunt picked these out a long time ago.” She handed them to Sharon. “They’re her favorites. She wanted them at the funeral.” Sharon whispered a small ‘thank you.’ “And these,” Mary handed her a small stack of pictures resting on one framed picture, “are for you.” Sharon looked down at them, they were all of her and Aunt Peggy.

“Thank you Mary. For everything.”

Mary hugged her tightly. “You’re welcome. Now go home and get some rest.” Sharon nodded before grabbing the rest of her things.

Sharon finally arrived home at a quarter to four in the morning. Her body was stiff and mind dizzy with exhaustion. She hauled herself up to her floor and stopped in her tracks at what greeted her on the landing. Captain America was asleep against her door. He was still in uniform; gloves on and helmet sitting on the floor next to him. His shield was still attached to his arm and laying across his body. He was dirty and bloody and slightly adorable. She brushed her fingers through his hair, smoothing it over and back into place. She frowned at the noticeable tear streaks on his dirty cheeks.

“Steve.” She said softly as she shook his shoulder. “Steve.” He stirred and opened his eyes. “Hi.”

He groaned and wiped his eyes. “I must have dozed off. What time is it?” He stood up and slung his shield onto his back.

“Quarter to four. What are you doing here Steve?”

“Mary called about Peggy. We were on our way back from Turkey and I came straight here once we landed.” He stepped toward her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”

Sharon dropped her bags and threw her arms around his middle. She buried her face in his chest as tears sprung to her eyes. Steve startled a minute before wrapping one arm securely around her and running the other through her hair.

“I smell.” Steve warned.

“I don’t care.” So he held her there in her apartment hallway. He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head until she was ready.

“I’ll put the kettle on.” She unlocked the door as Steve grabbed his bags. “I’m sorry you found out from Mary. I was going to call once I knew you were home safe.”

“It’s okay. She told me you were handling everything.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “My parents are in Europe so I was handling everything here with my Aunt and Uncle while they are handling the funeral arrangements in London.” She crossed to the kitchen. “How about you go get washed up and I’ll put on the kettle. Are you hungry? I can whip up something. I think I have some eggs and bacon. But if you would prefer, I can run out and get something else.” She was going a mile a minute. “Pancakes? Waffles? Or would you prefer something from the bakery?”

“Sharon.” Steve moved toward her.

“The tea!” She set the kettle in the sink and flipped on the water. She began pulling mugs from the cupboard. “I know the owner of the bakery down the street.”

“Sharon.”

“They don’t open until 6, but the staff gets there at 4 to start baking. She knows I have a crazy schedule and lets me stop by before they open.”

“Sharon.” She was spiraling.

“So what should I pick up? Muffins? Bagels? Croissants? They have great donuts! Or would you prefer-“

Steve wrapped his arms around her quickly and pulled her in for a tight hug instantly cutting her off. He could feel her body physically tense before relaxing against his. “Steve.” Her voice cracked.

He rubbed circles on her back with one hand while the other massaged the back of her neck. “Let me take care of you.” 

“I don’t need you to.” 

“I want to.” She was breaking before his eyes.

“You just saved the world.” The hand massaging the back of her neck was relaxing her against her will.

“I rested on the jet.”

“You lost her too.” Her grip on him tightened as she fought her emotions.

“Let me take care of you.” She nodded against his chest.

“I’m going to get cleaned up while you put the kettle on and relax. After that, I will take care of breakfast and we can both take a well deserved nap.” He kissed the top of her head one last time before grabbing his bag and heading for the bathroom. 

When Steve emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later, he heard the distinct whistle of the boiling kettle. He pulled it off the stove and set it aside. He moved around to the couch where Sharon was fast asleep. She was wearing a loose tank top and pajama shorts. He could see streaks where fresh tears had fell while he was in the shower. He lifted her lightly and crossed to her room where he set her gently in her bed.

“Where are you going?” She sat up as Steve moved to the door.

“The couch.”

“Stay with me.” Steve nodded before awkwardly slipping into the bed. Sharon curled into him, her back to his chest. He slipped his arm around her gently.

Steve lost track of how long he held Sharon to him while she silently cried. He was barely holding on by a thread, but he knew he had to be strong for her. This was a completely different Sharon than the last time he saw her. She was so happy and full of life, now she was breaking down in complete sorrow. He couldn’t imagine how much she had been through while he was gone. Watching the fight on the TV while also watching Peggy slip into Heaven. She must have been holding all her emotions in for her to break down like this.

He laid there for a long time, letting his mind wander between Sharon and Peggy. He couldn’t stop picturing her smiling at him as she stole bites of his pie before his thoughts would drift to her tear stained face tonight. She was beautiful and raw whether she was happy or sad and he felt almost guilty that he enjoyed seeing both sides of her. It made their budding relationship feel more real. He was savored the feeling of her warm body against his until his eyes finally slipped shut.


	15. Chapter 15

“Sharon?” She felt a hand on her elbow. She turned from the large portrait of a young Margaret Carter to face her mother. “Have you eaten yet?” She steered Sharon back into the crowded reception hall. 

“I’m okay.”

“That was a lovely speech you gave.” 

“Thanks Mom.” Sharon pulled her into a hug. “Come on, no more tears, Aunt Peggy would disapprove.”

“I know.” She wiped her eyes. “I know. I’m going to check on your father before I start blubbering again.” 

Sharon ran a hand through her hair. She had been at the church since 8 a.m. helping prepare for the funeral. She greeted hundreds of people as they filed in. She watched from afar as Steve and Sam arrived. She didn’t even get a chance to catch his eye. 

Her heels were killing her feet by the time she had to give her speech. She couldn’t wait to get out of her black dress and shoes and get away from everyone. She could really go for a long run or a hot bath, she hadn’t decided yet. 

“Those are my heels.” Natasha sidled up to her.

“They look better on me.” 

Natasha’s eyes took in Sharon’s form for a moment. “You’re right. Keep them.”

“Wasn’t planning on giving them back.” Sharon smirked. 

“Want to get a beer later?” 

“I can’t, I’m heading to the Berlin office later tonight. Duty calls. Thanks for coming.”

Natasha pulled her into a hug. “I know how important she was to you.”

“And Steve. I know you worry about him.”

“I worry about you more.” Natasha squeezed her shoulder. “I know you are fully capable of taking care of yourself, but unlike Captain Star Spangled Banner,” Sharon laughed, “you and I are a lot more susceptible to getting hurt.” She leaned in closer. “Have you been ordered to bring in Barnes yet?”

“No and I’m trying to keep it that way.”

“Have you told Steve?”

“No and I don’t plan to. Right now my job is to hunt down Hydra threats, Sergeant Barnes is not on my list.” Sharon said firmly.

“But he could be. You should tell him.”

“Not today.” Sharon left no room for discussion.

“Here.” Natasha handed her a slip of paper. “New number. Call me if you need me.” She squeezed Sharon’s hand one last time. Sharon watched as she walked into the crowd, most likely to find Steve and Sam.

“I thought she’d never stop blabbering.” Sharon turned suddenly.

“Tony!” She threw her arms around him and pulled him into a strong hug. He gave a small chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Share-Bear. It’s been a long time.”

“Too long.” She pulled away to look at him. “If you weren’t so self-centered you’d come around more often.”

He smiled broadly. “There’s that sassy attitude I taught you.” Sharon laughed. “Your mother still hates me for teaching you how to swear.”

“Aunt Peg wasn’t too pleased either.”

He shrugged. “You turned out fine. S.H.I.E.L.D. and now CIA, you are kicking ass.”

“Did Iron Man just compliment me?”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” He pointed a finger at her.

There was a small pause, both of them just taking the other in. “I’m so happy to see you. When did you get here? I didn’t see you in the church.”

“Slipped in the back at the start. I didn’t want people to see me and take away from the reason we are all here.” He paused, his face going serious. “I’m so sorry for your loss Sharon. I know how much she meant to you. She was so proud of you, so proud.” Sharon gave a small smile. This was the Tony she loved, the serious and sincere man behind the cocky exterior. She gave a small ‘thank you.’

“I have something for you.” He dug in his jacket before pulling out a small black square patch. “After your Hydra incident, I started working on this.” He pulled her wrist forward and slipped it into her hand. “You scared the shit out of me and I won’t let that happen again.”

“Tony-“

“It’s a glorified heart monitor.” He cut her off. She knew it was to keep from getting emotional. “The material will stick to your skin so you don’t have to worry about it falling off during physical activity. It has a GPS signal transmitting so I can find you at any time. Just stick it over your heart when you go on missions. If your heart rate slows to a certain point, it will send out an emergency signal to me and FRIDAY. See this soft button in the middle,” He pointed to it and pressed it, “If you are ever in an emergency, all you have to do is hold this down and it will send out an emergency signal.”

“Tony-“

He shook his head. “I know you can take care of yourself, but I worry about you. You are out there fighting crime, but with half the help and back up that the Avengers have. I know you and Captain Perfect-” Sharon smiled at the nickname. If only Steve knew he had so many… “-are doing whatever you are doing and I know some time in the future you are going to get called up to the Big Leagues and I need to know you are safe.” He held her hand tightly. “I need you to know you have someone to help you if you need it.”

“Thank you.” She pulled him in for another hug. “I love you Tony-Bologna.”

He held her back tightly. “I told you not to call me that anymore. And love you too Share-Bear.”

She kissed him softly on the cheek. “You made Pepper one too, didn’t you?”

“Yes and I’m making her a suit too. I think I’m just going to have her wear it as her everyday outfit. She’ll hate it, but hey, she’ll get over it. I can always paint it to look like a business suit.”

Sharon laughed openly. “She would kill you with your own suit.” 

They turned when someone cleared their throat behind them. “Stark.” Steve stuck out his hand.

“Rogers.” Tony shook it cordially.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Just paying my respects. I spent a lot of time with Sharon and Peggy when I was a kid. She was an amazing woman. And made a great fondue…” He clapped Steve on shoulder as he grinned broadly and walked off. Steve looked stunned at Tony’s remark as he turned to Sharon who was trying to hide her smile. Aunt Peggy had loved to tell people the story about how Steve thought ‘fondue’ meant that her and Howard were shagging.

“Your speech was great.” He turned back to her, his hand brushing against hers. She could tell he wanted to hold it, but was too polite to act. She tugged him into the empty adjoining kitchen. She wrapped her arms around his middle and leaned her head on his chest. She sighed and relaxed into him. He was so warm and smelled amazing. She just wanted to lose herself in his embrace and forget everything that had happened in the last week. 

His hand stroked her hair softly as he held her. She could feel him press kisses into her hair as he swayed them slightly side to side. “How are you doing?”

“My feet hurt and I’m not happy I have to go to Berlin after this, but otherwise I’m okay.” She looked up at him, his blue eyes boring into hers. “How are you?”

He brought a hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be honest. I wasn’t ready for this.” His brow furrowed. “Other than Bucky, she’s the last connection to my past and I… I wasn’t ready to let it all go yet. How are you so calm?” She was a completely different person from the night she broke down in her apartment. She was cool, calm, and collected once again.

“Aunt Peggy had her good days, but for the last few years I’ve watched her slowly slip away for us. She wasn’t Peggy anymore and the days that she realized she was sick were the worst. She agonized over what and who she had forgotten, it was heartbreaking. It was hard that night it happened, but I’m at peace with her passing because I know she isn’t suffering anymore. She was barely Peggy at the end and I know she’s in a better place.”

Steve took a deep breath. She could see the tears welling in his eyes again. “Hey.” She squeezed his hand. “She lived a long and happy life. She was so happy when she found out you were alive and got a second chance at living a long life of your own. She always knew you were meant for more.”

“I miss her.”

“Me too.”

“Sharon-“ Her mother appeared in the doorway. Steve let go of her hand, unsure of how much Sharon’s parents knew and slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a raw moment. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need help loading the flowers in the car.”

Sharon nodded. “Okay.” She waited for her mom to leave before turning back to Steve. “Why don’t you take a minute?” She said softly before following her mother back into the reception.

—

Sharon spent six days in Berlin sitting through meetings. She briefed the Berlin task force on where her team was in their operations before listening to their progress. She followed along on two different intel missions that resulted in no new information. She had ran through her small supply of clothes and had to pay a ridiculous amount to have the hotel wash them. By the time she arrived back in the states she was in a poor mood. She debriefed with her boss before slugging her way home and falling into bed. 

Her phone rang as her head hit the pillow. “Hello?” She snapped.

“Bad time?” It was Steve. She was wondering if she would hear from him again any time soon. After loading flowers into the car and saying goodbye to a handful of people, Sharon met Steve to say goodbye. He was quiet and contemplative. The funeral was rattling him more than she expected. She gave him a small hug and told him to take the time he needed before leaving him on the curb. It wasn’t the goodbye she expected, though to be fair she didn’t expect a grand goodbye to begin with, especially with the circumstances. But it was the goodbye he needed.

“I’m sorry, no, just stressed. How are you doing?” She asked, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

“Better. I took some time to myself and then took the recruits out for a day off.”

“That’s great.”

“I feel grounded again.” 

“It’s amazing what a little rest and relaxation can do for the soul.”

“When can I see you again?” He eagerly asked.

“Friday? But I don’t get off work until late.”

“How late?”

“Around eight thirty.” Sharon sighed.

“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at nine.” He hung up before Sharon could say yes. Sharon stared at her phone in disbelief. 

“Well I guess it’s a date then.” She muttered to herself as she tossed her phone down.


	16. Chapter 16

Friday came sooner than Sharon expected. Before she knew it, it was eight o’clock and she was no where near getting out of work on time. She threw her arm over her eyes as she slumped into her office chair and kicked up her feet. She was going to have to call and cancel. She was going to have to cancel a date with Captain America himself. She laughed out loud. Women all over the world would quit their jobs to get a date with him and here she was about to cancel.

“Something funny?” Annette, her fellow colleague, asked as she grabbed a stack of files from Sharon’s desk. 

Sharon stretched. “The injustice of having to cancel a date with the one, Steven Rogers.”

Annette scrambled to catch the files she almost dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”

Sharon picked up a file Annette missed. “You heard me.”

“Girl, you’re dating Captain America?” She was gobsmacked.

Sharon laughed. “I wouldn’t say dating… We’ve only been on a few dates.”

“Good luck with that call. I’ll see you in twenty for the meeting. Bring a snack, I think it’s going to be a long one.”

Sharon groaned as she collapsed back into her chair. Some days she really wished she had picked a different career.

—

Nothing was going to ruin this night, not even Sharon’s terrible work schedule. Steve was determined to take her out to dinner, no matter the time or circumstances. He needed to see her smile. Her perfect golden hair. Her eyes that challenged his.

Since Peggy’s passing he felt insecure and suddenly lost again in the world he awoke into. He was distracted and mourning one of the last pieces of his former life. He was suddenly unsure of his relationship with Sharon. He had never gotten the chance to discuss it with Peggy. He had never gotten her permission… her closure that it was alright to move on. 

So he packed up after the funeral and headed out of town. He needed to be alone. To mourn. To figure out his place in this world again. He called Barton from the car, knowing Clint would have a place he could stay. Clint offered him his ‘tiny house’, as he called it, that sat on the edge of his property near a small lake. Steve wasn’t sure what he meant by ‘tiny house’ until he showed up at the coordinates he was given. He almost laughed to himself at the size of the small house on wheels. He was sure he would be a bull in a china shop, but he surprisingly found all 300 square feet of it rather cozy for his short stay.

He spent the next few days sitting by the lake, running, and reading to clear his mind. He sat for a long time pondering his feelings for Peggy and Sharon. Sharon was right when she said things were going to be messy with them. At the time he hadn’t even thought of how he would feel after Peggy passed and now… Now he knew he didn’t just want Sharon in his life, he needed her there. She was slowly becoming his new rock, his sun on a cloudy day. 

Even though they had technically only been on a handful dates, she was everything he never knew he wanted in a woman. She was smart, strong, sassy, beautiful, and exceptionally kind. She had a similar moral compass to his and a fierce loyalty to what she knows to be right. It wasn’t going to be easy, hell, it was going to be outright hard to keep a relationship with their schedules and jobs, but he knew in the end it would be worth it. Since waking up, he never thought he would be the man he once was. The man that wanted a wife and family and a house to go home to. He never thought he would have the opportunity for it… to find love again in this crazy world he was thrown into. He was jealous of Barton and his farmhouse. Of his wife and kids and crazy yet functional family. He was starting to picture it again, to want it again, to see himself settle down once he had fulfilled his patriotic duty. Sharon was changing him back into the man he was before. Sharon was the only one he pictured having that life with.

Steve savored sitting next to the calm lake. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually sat down and sorted out his thoughts and feelings. He wanted to call Sharon right away but he knew he couldn’t. She was working and still grieving Peggy. She had told him to take a few days to himself after the funeral. She knew his mind was rattled. She knew and gave him exactly what he needed. A hug, kiss on the cheek, and a promise not to call until he was ready. So he waited. He took a few days to himself before canceling his next training lesson with the recruits and took them out to a secluded park and let them have a day to themselves.

He called after six days. He wanted to take her out. She said yes. Friday had arrived and he knew it was bad news the moment his phone rang at 8:15. She wanted to cancel, but he refused. He was going to see her tonight, no matter the time. That’s how they ended up at a small Italian cafe at midnight.

“Thanks for not cancelling.” Steve gave a small smile over the candlelit table that made Sharon’s heart beat fast.

“Well you didn’t give me much of a choice when I called.” She smirked over her glass of wine.

“I wanted to see you. I… I missed you.” Sharon set her glass down slowly. Her eyes were unreadable as they watched his. She leaned over the table and kissed him softly.

“I missed you too.” She whispered back. Steve wanted to grab her by the back of the neck and keep kissing her, but he felt too exposed in front of the wait staff that was watching from the kitchen. She sat back, a smile spreading over her face. He couldn’t help but smile back.

“So how did you convince this place to stay open?” She took another sip.

“I might have begged and pleaded and paid them more than I should have.” He said sheepishly. “And I may have used the Captain America card.”

Sharon laughed. “That is abusing your powers and fame.”

He held up his hands in defense. “I know, I’m ashamed of myself.”

“As you should be.” She picked up the menu and browsed it for a moment. “Now use your fame and get us some breadsticks.” 

“Yes ma’am.”

—

After dinner, Steve drove Sharon back to her apartment and because he is always a gentleman, he walked her to her door. She didn’t know if it was the wine or her long day at work or just Steve himself, but Sharon felt dizzy as she let them into her apartment and turned to face him. He was closer than she expected and his hands were so warm on her hips.

“Steve-“ His lips were on hers. Warm and soft and kissing her with a hunger she wasn’t expecting. She held him tightly, her hands gripping his neck and running through his hair. They stumbled as Steve reached behind them to shut the door. She giggled against his lips as he cursed when he missed the door a number of times and had to actually look to find it and shut it. 

His hands were just on the edge of her shirt, she could feel his fingers brushing the bare skin between her skirt and shirt. He was so damn polite. She pulled him by the neck lightly as she backed them toward the couch. Her legs hit the edge and before she knew it Steve was lowering her gently down. She felt like a teenager again. He finally plucked up the courage to let his hands slip under her shirt and roam.

They kissed for a few more minutes before Steve suddenly pulled away. “What’s wrong?” Sharon asked almost immediately. His brow was furrowed. Something was bothering him.

Sharon sat up and readjusted her shirt quickly. Steve sunk onto the couch next to her. His eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against hers. “I… I want to do this properly with you.” He said softly. She remained silent as she gently stroked his cheek. “Everything is so different from before. From when I went into the ice and I don’t want to rush into anything. I want to be a proper gentleman.”

Sharon would have laughed if she didn’t know how serious Steve was about being a proper gentleman. “Hey.” He finally opened his eyes to meet hers. “I know. I know things are very different for you. I don’t want to rush anything either.”

“I know we are just kissing, but… ” He was having trouble finding the words. “I feel like I need to tell you now that I don’t want to take it further yet.”

“I’ve thought about us…” His cheeks flushed suddenly and his body tensed. “What we have is a mess right now. We are on opposite schedules, we both come with baggage, we are both grieving. I’m not ready to take our relationship to that level. I don’t even know what our relationship is right now and we don’t have to figure that out right away if you don’t want to. All I know is that I like you and want to spend time with you. And when we are ready, we can talk about it and take the next step together.”

He finally gave a small smile. “I want you to be my girlfriend…” He paused. “That sounds really corny when I say it out-loud.”

Sharon gave a small laugh and kissed him. “I would love too.” She murmured against his lips. His hand came to cup her cheek and run through her hair. She could get used to this.

“I should go.”

“You are always welcome to stay. No funny business, I promise.”

He stayed. It was much better than sleeping on Sam’s uncomfortable spare bed anyway. They laid in bed for a long time, talking and laughing and kissing before Sharon finally drifted off. Steve held her close. He couldn’t believe just days ago he was unsure of what he wanted with Sharon. But now, lying here with her warm in his arms, he couldn’t imagine not being here in this moment. He couldn’t picture anything more important to him than just lying here with her. This is what he wanted. Sharon was slowly becoming home to him.


	17. Chapter 17

“Tell me again about your encounter with the Winter Soldier.” Sharon desperately wanted to roll her eyes at her Boss’s request. He had been grilling her for twenty minutes about her previous missions, particularly her mission in London. She’d already gone through every detail and he had her full report and testimony she previously gave.

“We left Mr. Baumert’s room when we heard a crash. We grabbed our guns and entered to find Sergeant Barnes in the room and standing over Baumert. We announced who we were and asked him to freeze. He knocked out Richards before grabbing me. He asked me who I was and I told him. I believe my name triggered something in his memory about my Aunt. He let me go, shot Baumert in the knee, and left.” Sharon explained.

“We know he’s unstable and dangerous. There’s been a lot of talk about who will bring him in. We know he’s targeting the same Hydra agents we are, you will cross paths again.”

“Sir, what evidence is there that he is targeting the same agents we are? My team has collected none and have had no further interaction or speculation of Sergeant Barnes since London.” She pulled the file toward her and started rummaging through it.

“Our list of agents are all known Hydra that were associated with the Winter Soldier. It would be ignorant for us to not assume he was targeting them.” Sharon frowned at him.

“With all due respect, I think that’s assuming too much. Since the Triskilion fell, London is the only violent sighting we have seen of Barnes. Other than that, he’s been quietly hiding. You’re right when you say he’s unstable and dangerous, but we don’t know what he remembers and what his motivations are. For all we know, he could be peacefully trying to get his life back now that he’s not under Hydra control.”

Her boss straightened his tie, a habit he does when he’s becoming unsure of himself. “Are you changing the mission of my team, sir?”

“No, but be ready when it does. You’re dismissed.”

—

Sharon wandered slowly through the cemetery. It was a beautiful afternoon for a slow walk. She stopped in front of Fury’s headstone and gently set her bouquet of flowers down.

“White daisies. Simple and beautiful.” Fury stood next to her in casual clothes.

“I figured a multi-colored bouquet wasn’t quite your style.”

“You are right.”

“They’re curious about him. I should have lied about London. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Even if you had, they’d still be antsy. They know Cap has been trying to track him. The fact that he can’t seem to get Barnes isn’t sitting well with the CIA or FBI. As long as he’s still out there, they will never stop looking for him. The longer they go with no leads, the more they will start speculating and blaming him in order to have a reason to bring him in.”

Sharon nodded. “One more encounter and I know my orders will change.”

“Then let’s hope for all our sake that Bucky Barnes is on a secluded beach somewhere taking a much needed vacation.”

—

“Captain Rogers?” Steve jumped out of his skin.

“Vis!” Wanda came running into the room as Steve turned to find Vision standing directly behind him. “I told you, you have to use the door and knock.”

“My apologies Captain Rogers. I forgot.”

“It’s alright.” He sighed as he tried to slow his heart rate. “Is there something you needed?”

“Yes, a facial recognition came through that has a 73% match to James Buchanan Barnes.”

Steve sat up straight in his chair and Wanda froze in unwrapping the piece of candy she took from Steve’s desk. “Where?”

“A small town in Northern Netherlands.”

Steve looked over at Wanda. “Vision call Sam. Wanda, suit up.”

—

“They’re going after him.” Natasha’s smooth voice stated.

“Don’t say anything.” Sharon held her phone to her ear as she walked out of the crowded cafe she was in and into the alley. “Who? Barnes?” She finally asked.

“Steve just called. Vision picked up a facial recognition match in the Northern Netherlands. Him, Sam, and Wanda are on a jet there now.”

“They better keep it discreet. My boss is just itching for him to show up so they can make the call to bring him in.” “No official orders yet though?” Nat asked.

“Not yet, but my boss is convinced that Bucky is going to start attacking all our Hydra targets. I’m praying he isn’t right.”

“Have you told Steve yet that he’s the one who beat you up in London? Or that if the CIA gives the order, you’ll be heading the team?” Sharon knew Natasha was going to ask her this.

She sighed. “No and no… I… I know he’s not going to take it well and everything is finally settling down after Peggy and I just want to enjoy it while I can.”

“You’re going to have to tell him.”

“I know and I will. Until I know it’s going to happen, I just can’t bring myself to tell him yet. Everything is so new and fragile still, I’m afraid it’ll ruin everything.”

“I understand, but you know it will ruin everything if he finds out too late.”

Sharon kicked a rock near her foot. “You’re right. We’ll see what happens with this and I’ll go from there. How are you doing?”

“Good. I’m at the farm this weekend and no missions on the horizon. Steve wants me to come to Avengers and help with some sparring lessons with the recruits.”

“That’ll be fun.” “What are you doing now that lover-boy is traveling to Europe?”

“I am currently having dinner with my mother… she’s cried twice already and told me that my hair looks dull. But I have to go, thanks for calling.”

“Talk to you soon.” The line went dead. Sharon pocketed her phone before heading back into the cafe.

“Work?” Her mother asked as Sharon sat back down at the table. Sharon nodded as her mother scoffed. “Darling, I know you love what you do, but I really wish your Father had been more strict about you not taking after your Great Aunt Peggy.”  


Sharon silently ate her salad. Here she goes again… “I know you were never the most… girly child, but I do wish he hadn’t encouraged you to parade around fighting “bad guys” and pretending you were a spy. I never liked what Peggy did and I hate it even more that you followed in her footsteps. It’s so dangerous! I still can’t believe what happened to you when we were away!” Sharon kept silent, the quieter she was, the quicker her mother would end her rant. “And of course we never got a phone call until Peggy was attacked! What kind of organization doesn’t call their employee’s mother when they are kidnapped!”

“Mother… please, lower your voice if you are going to discuss this.”

Her mother waved her hand at Sharon. “I didn’t want to say anything with Peggy passing and you were away for work, but I can’t keep it to myself anymore. I think you need to quit your job.”

Sharon gave a small laugh. “You know that’s not going to happen. I know you hate it, but I love it and it’s my choice. I’m sorry they didn’t call when I was kidnapped, but if anyone should be mad, it should be me.” Her mother’s lips thinned. “You got the call and did you and Dad jump on the first flight you could get and come visit me in the hospital? Or take care of me when I got out? No.” Sharon stared her straight in the eye. “You can’t be an overprotective parent when you aren’t around. I’m not a kid anymore, you know how seriously I take my job and it’s offensive when you try to push me to be someone I’m not.”

Her mother fumed. “What about Steve Rogers?”

Sharon’s eyes challenged her to start this conversation. “You had no problem with him when I told you we were seeing each other or when you saw him at the funeral.”

“Well that would have been highly disrespectful to say something at the funeral. We both know how important he was to your Aunt…”

“So what would you like to say then?” Sharon’s temper was starting to flare. Her mother had always had choice words for her career path and love life. She should have known better than to assume she would be happy for Sharon and Steve.

“Don’t you think it’s a little…” She trailed off, trying to find the right words.

Sharon raised her eyebrows. “Yes, I’m perfectly aware of the circumstances you are talking about, but Steve and I are mature adults and have discussed it thoroughly ourselves and don’t have a problem with it… so neither should you.” That shut her up. Her mother stared at Sharon for a long moment before finally smiling and patting Sharon’s hand.

“You know I just worry about you.” Sharon rolled her eyes. This is why she encouraged her parents to travel so often…

The rest of dinner passed quickly and with much better conversation. Sharon loved her mother, but small doses were the key to keeping their relationship healthy. When she finally arrived home she collapsed on her couch. She was ready for a glass of wine and a hot bath. She flipped on the TV, hoping nothing about Bucky Barnes or Steve was on the news. She kept her phone close, waiting for a call from Steve or from her boss regarding Steve. After an hour of the news, she dragged herself up and headed for her bath. She was mildly disappointed she hadn’t heard from Steve yet. It had been a week since their midnight date and she was itching for another one. They were supposed to meet up in the next few days, but now she wasn’t sure with him flying off to Europe.

It wasn’t until after her bath and she was crawling into bed that Steve called.

“Hey you.”

“Hi, did I wake you?” It was almost midnight.

“No, I was just getting into bed. How are you?”

“Good, just really busy.” He didn’t elaborate. She knew he wouldn’t. They hadn’t sat down and had a full conversation about Bucky yet or Steve’s attempts to find him. 

“Yeah, me too. Are we still on for Sunday night at my place?” 

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Sharon’s heart sunk. “I’m following a lead in Europe right now. I don’t know if I’ll be back in time.”

“That’s okay!” She lied. “Just let me know if you need to reschedule.”

“I’m so sorry Sharon.” She could hear in his voice that he meant it.

“It’s not a big deal, we’ll figure something else out if we need to.”

“How’s your work going?” 

Sharon sighed as she sunk further into her pillows. “The usual, just a lot of paperwork and mission prep…” She trailed off. She could hear talking in the background. “Do you need to go?”

“I’m sorry, I do, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Good night Sharon.” He said even though she knew it was not night-time for him.

“Night Steve.” He hung up. Sharon tossed her phone down next to her. Sometimes she wished spies worked a normal 8-5 like the rest of the world.


	18. Chapter 18

They reached a dead end. By the time Steve, Sam, and Wanda reached the Netherlands there was no trace of Bucky. Sam scoured the footage that came through the facial recognition and came up with nothing except a local man whom they believed set off the facial recognition to begin with. To say Steve was disappointed would be an understatement. He was frustrated he didn’t catch that it wasn’t Bucky’s face to begin with that prompted the mission, but also frustrated that he couldn’t catch a break and actually have a legitimate lead on his whereabouts. Wanda and Sam had nothing but positive reassurances that next time they’d find him, but nothing helped his sour mood. He hated that he wasted Avengers resources and time to follow a bad lead. He just wanted to get back to Avengers facility and be alone.

Sam clapped him on the back as the jet set down. “We’ll find him. He can’t hide forever.”

Wanda gave him a small smile as he passed. He knew she was sensing his mood and giving him the space he needed. He stalked off to his room the first chance he got and slammed the door. He set his shield down before tossing his helmet and phone on the bed. His phone blinked up at him. He snatched it back up to find a message from Sharon sent three hours ago. He smiled as a picture of the front page of a tabloid popped up.

**CAPTAIN AMERICA: HOT BOD OR DAD BOD? SEE HOW OUR OLDEST HERO HAS LET HIS BODY GO!**

Below the title was a picture of Steve in his suit alongside a clearly photo-shopped picture of Steve’s head on a chubby man’s body.

**Sharon:** I told you not to eat those last two breadsticks last week…

Steve smiled widely. He loved that something so simple from her could put a smile on his face even in his worst of moods. He checked the time before responding.

**Steve:** You were right… went straight to my thighs.

He paused a moment before adding.

**Steve:** What’s a Dad Bod?

“Yo Steve!” Sam was knocking on his door suddenly. “You have to check out this article I found online about you!” He laughed loudly. Steve opened the door only to have Sam thrust his phone in Steve’s face. “Please tell me you know what a Dad Bod is!”

—

Sharon was giddy as she drove Sunday morning to meet Steve. She was positive he was going to cancel after his last mission and instead invited her to brunch at the Bartons. She had been driving down a dirt road for twenty minutes before a charming farmhouse appeared. Steve was already coming out to greet her as she parked next to his bike. She barely shut her car door before his strong arms were wrapping her in a warm hug and his face was buried in her neck. She held him tight, she knew he needed this.

“Hey you.” She finally said as he pulled away. He kissed her full on the mouth, surprising her with his forwardness.

“Hey you lovebirds! There are children present!” Natasha’s voice shouted forcing them to pull away.

“I’m sorry. I missed you.” Steve said with a large grin as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“I missed you too.” She kissed him softly.

“You better get in here before the bacon is gone!” Natasha shouted. Sharon looked behind her to see Clint forcing Nat inside.

“We better get in there.” Sharon laughed as she slipped her hand into Steve’s and let him lead her inside.

Brunch was full of good food and laughter. Sharon couldn’t remember the last time she laughed so hard. Clint was fantastic at retelling him and Natasha’s missions and his wife, Laura, was even better at telling all his funny mishaps that he’s done on the farm. Clint’s daughter, Lila, spent the majority of breakfast coloring with Natasha and explaining what Avenger she was going to be for Halloween while Laura bounced baby Nathaniel on her knee. Their son, Cooper, laughed along to the stories while also asking Steve a million questions. Sharon had never felt so at home in a stranger’s house.

Steve was so relaxed and easy-going the entire meal. She loved watching his eyes light up at a different story or memory. Every once in a while he would put a hand on her knee which sent butterflies soaring in her stomach. He was the first to hop up and offer to help with the dishes. The kids followed him into the kitchen and offered to dry while he washed. Laura insisted he didn’t have to wash them and then encouraged him to use the dishwasher, but he refused and washed them by hand. Clint eventually joined him at the sink while Nat took the baby and Laura started another pot of coffee.

“You’re great with them.” Sharon commented as Natasha bounced Nathaniel on her knee.

She gave a small smile. “I love them. And Clint and Laura let me spoil them as much as I want.”

“I know. I can always tell when you’ve spent time here, you tend to meddle more.” Sharon quirked an eyebrow as she took a sip of coffee.

“I don’t hear you complaining about my meddling anymore.” Nat shot back.

Laura rejoined them, setting a bowl of fresh fruit on the table. “Thank you again Laura for having me over. Brunch was delicious.”

“Are you kidding me, thank you! I never get to have people over, you know, with Clint’s cover and all. I was so happy the day those boys showed up in my house. It meant I could have someone other than my mother visit.” She gave a small laugh. “Of course, they’re all super busy, saving the world and all…” She took a sip of coffee. She leaned in suddenly and lowered her voice, “I was so happy when Clint told me Steve was seeing someone. Clint always talked about how lonely Steve seemed at times, especially when he was still trying to catch up on modern society. It’s nice to see him not worrying about the world all the time.”

“Mom! Can we go swimming?” Lila breathlessly asked as she bounded over to her mother.

“Sure, your Dad filled the pool last night. Go get your suit on.” She bounded upstairs with her brother trailing behind her.

Sharon glanced back at Steve just as he turned toward her. He gave her a smile and wink before handing Clint the last clean plate to dry. Butterflies exploded in her stomach.

Later that morning, Sharon found herself leaning against Steve as they rocked lightly on the porch swing in comfortable silence. The Bartons had a large above ground pool that Clint had set up. Sharon smiled as she watched Clint and his kids play water basketball. Nathaniel sat in his baby float with his shark hat and water shirt. Clint was amazing at tickling and gently splashing the baby while still playing with Lila and Cooper. Laura and Natasha sat in reclining lawn chairs chatting happily. Every once in a while, Laura would shoo away their wandering chickens.

“This is beautiful. I’m so glad you brought me.” Sharon looked up at him.

“I’m glad you came.” He kissed her lightly. “Ever since Clint first brought us here, I have loved coming. It’s so relaxing and reminds me to slow down.”

“It’s amazing to see them as a family.” She watched as Laura climbed the ladder to grab Nathaniel from Clint. He gave her a long kiss before throwing himself down into the water and splashing the kids. “It really puts into perspective that work isn’t everything. That there’s a chance to have a family and be a spy.”

“I didn’t think it was possible to have both anymore until I came here.” Steve admitted.

Sharon looked back up at him. “Is this something you would want?” Steve continued to look out at the scene before them. “Before I went in the ice, that’s all I ever wanted. To serve my country and once the war was over, come home and settle down, have a few kids. After the serum,” He paused and looked down at their hands, “I hoped to have that with Peggy.” He stopped, Sharon felt a lump in her throat. She always knew that’s what he wanted, but it felt very different hearing him actually say it. He cleared his throat. “After waking up, I didn’t think it was possible at all. Everything was different, I was different. It wasn’t until I came here that I thought maybe it could still happen…”

He finally looked her in the eyes and gave her a small smile. “And now… if we continue this and if you wanted to…” He hesitated. She could tell he was starting to feel nervous.

“Are you saying you would want to raise chickens with me?” Sharon teased, lightening the mood.

He laughed outright. “I would love to raise chickens with you.” He kissed her lightly. “if that’s something you would want.”

“It is… someday.” She murmured against his lips as he cupped the back of her neck to pull her closer. Sharon melted against Steve until he abruptly pulled back looking startled. Giggles erupted from Lila and Natasha as they stood guiltily in the yard with water guns. Steve looked down at his soaked shirt before hopping the porch railing. Lila and Natasha went running across the lawn screaming with Steve chasing after. Chickens scattered and feathers flew.

“Cap! Cap! Watch your super strength!” Clint shouted after them.

—

Sharon and Steve spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with Laura, Clint, and Natasha while the kids swam. The Barton’s asked them to stay for dinner, but they politely declined. Instead they headed back to Sharon’s where they ordered pizza and checked another movie off Steve’s list. The credits rolled quietly as Sharon sat relaxed on the couch, her feet in Steve’s lap as he massaged them.

“I have to ask you something and I want you to be honest,” He paused and Sharon’s quirked an eyebrow at him. “How close are you and Natasha?”

Sharon gave a smug smile. “I’m sorry Captain Rogers, but that information is classified.”

Steve frowned. “Spies. I don’t know why I even try to get a straight answer out of any of you.”

Sharon gave a small laugh. “Maybe you’re better off without a straight answer. Ever think of that?” Steve’s brow furrowed causing Sharon’s smile to slip away. She knew that look. He was going to get contemplative.

“At first, when I woke up, I didn’t want to know everything. It was too much all at once and I didn’t want to believe that so much had changed, but now,” He paused in rubbing her feet, “I just want the honest truth so I don’t feel like I’m still catching up on the 70 years I missed.”

“She’s my best friend.” Sharon said the moment he was finished speaking. “I met her when she first started working with Coulson and Fury on the side. I was fresh out of the Academy and we saved each other’s lives on a routine mission that went wrong.” Steve started rubbing her feet again. “We don’t see each other often, but we always check in when we have missions. I can tell her anything, which is why she was one of the few people who knew I was related to Peggy. We’re one of each other’s best kept secrets.”

“Thank you.” He gave a small smile that made Sharon’s heart flutter.

“I promised to be honest with you when we started this. So no more secrets… unless it’s not mine to tell.” She added quickly at the end.

Steve gave a small laugh. “Okay.”

“So,” Sharon sipped her tea, “What else do you want to know?”

Steve thought for a long moment. “Hardest thing you’ve ever done on a mission?”

“Left someone behind.” Sharon answered without hesitation. “You?”

She knew the answer before he spoke it, “Continuing my mission after I lost Bucky, when he fell from that train.”

He was quiet for a long moment. “Do you want to talk about him?” Sharon asked gently.

Steve shook his head and gave a small smile. “Not quite yet.”

Sharon nodded. “I understand. Easiest thing you’ve ever done on a mission?”

Steve smiled, “I rescued a cat from a storm drain once.”

Sharon gave a small laugh, “That’s true hero work right there.”

Steve laughed. “The little old lady who owned the cat thought so. What about you?”

“Sacrifice myself for my team.” She gave Steve a sad smile. “Not as charming as your cat story, but still noble.”

“What you did…”

“I know.” She nodded in understanding. “I’d do it again too without hesitation.”

“Crashing that plane into the ice, I’d do it again too.” He stared deeply in her eyes. “Come here.” He gently tucked a curl behind her ear before leaning his forehead against hers and sighing. “Let’s hope we don’t have to make that choice again.”

“Agreed.” She kissed him softly.

“Sharon…” His blue eyes bore into hers. “I…” Her heart hammered loudly in her chest. He shook his head lightly. “You’re so beautiful.” She kissed him firmly, saving him from saying anything else.


	19. Chapter 19

“Thanks again for helping out today.” Sam said through mouthfuls of pizza. Sharon smiled over her beer.

“Is bringing pizza and beer considered helping?” Sam’s house in D.C. had finally sold. Sam, Steve, and Clint had spent the day packing up the entire house and loading two different trailers full of stuff. One to go to the local donation store and the other to go with him to the Avengers facility. Sharon showed up in the afternoon bearing pizza and beer.

“Yes.” Clint answered immediately as he grabbed his third slice.

“You know, it’d be more helpful if you guys didn’t stop in the middle of loading to eat.” Steve grumbled as he hauled an armchair out the door by himself.

“We were hungry.” Sam answered simply.

“Lift with your knees Cap.” Clint joked as Steve put the chair into the trailer.

“Come on slacker, eat some pizza with us.” Sam laughed. Sharon kissed his cheek as she handed him a plate and beer.

“I’m going to miss this house.” Sam said fondly as he gazed up at the house. “A lot of good memories.”

“Yeah, like when Natasha and I showed up at your back door after HYDRA tried to kill us.” Steve joked.

“Hey, best day of my life. Captain America needed my help. Still no better reason to get back in the game and be an Avenger.”

“I’ll toast to that.” Clint bumped bottles with Sam. “You’re next Carter.” Clint winked at her.

She smiled. “Who says I want to be an Avenger?”

“Come on Carter, don’t tell me you would say no if they asked you to be an Avenger?” Sam challenged her.

“Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn’t.” Steve smiled at her teasing answer.

“It would be a sad day if Sharon Carter, the legendary Agent 13, turned down the Avengers.” Clint pointed at her. “Top of her class at the Academy in combat, weaponry, and intelligence. Hell, graduated number one in her class, all without using the Carter name.” He winked at her. “And that’s just her resumé.”

Steve and Sam both stopped eating to glance at Sharon’s shy smile before intently listening to Clint. “Nat’s told me plenty of stories of you in the field. Like the time your target ran and you chased him 2 miles on foot before shooting him in the back with a bow and arrow you grabbed off a kid.” 

“Damn Carter.” Sam was impressed. 

“Or when you took down ten men single-handedly.”

“That’s my girl.” Steve quietly whispered to her. She felt her cheeks go warm.

“Alright, that’s enough.” She hopped off the truck tailgate, waving them off.

“Tell the story, please!” Sam begged.

“Another time, I promise.” Sharon simply replied.

“And Nat told me about how you took on Rumlow too!”

“Rumlow?” Steve asked surprised.

“The day the Triskilion fell. He came to the control room to launch the carriers. A fight broke out.” She held up her arm to show the scar he left behind. “Got me with his knife after I put a gun to his head.”

“I didn’t know you were there.”

She gave a small smile. “Well I did work there.”

“Tell us how you took out your Defense Professor as a sophomore at the Academy.” Clint started again on the stories.

“That was just tactful fighting over manpower.” She smiled.

“Kick-ass and humble! We could definitely use more of that on the team.” Clint winked at her. “The Avengers would be lucky to have someone as talented as you fighting alongside them.”

“Cheers to that.” Steve raised his beer, clinking it with Sam and Clint. Sharon flushed a light shade of pink as she raised her beer to toast with them.

—

“You better step on it old man or you’re going to be late for your date with Sharon tonight.” Sam laughed as he and Steve drove to drop off the last of Sam’s things he was donating.

“I don’t drive that slow!” Steve slowly pressed on the gas pedal, trying to not be obvious that he was speeding up.

“So things with you and Sharon seem to be going well. How long have you been seeing each other now?”

Steve smiled. “About five months. She’s great.”

Sam stared at him. “That’s it? She’s great?” He threw his hands in the air. “Steve, Sharon is fantastic! She’s kick-ass, nice, beautiful, humble! You are so lucky, man.”

Steve gave a small laugh. “Alright, she’s fantastic.” “Thank you!”

“I can’t remember the last time I was this happy. She’s… She’s perfect. I think I’m falling in love with her.” 

Sam grinned. “Every time I look at her, she takes my breath away. So beautiful and funny.” Steve pointed out with a smile. “And her quirks… like how she’s obsessed with burgers and fries. And she hates clutter except when it comes to her mugs. She leaves them everywhere.” Sam watched as Steve’s face lit up as he talked about Sharon. 

Sam clapped him on the shoulder. “I hate to break it to you man, but you aren’t falling in love with her. You already are in love with her.” Steve just shook his head, a lovesick smile on his face.

—

“I have to say, you’re a fantastic cook.” Steve complimented as he helped clear their dinner dishes.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Sharon teased as Steve smiled bashfully.

“I’m sorry. I just mean-” 

Sharon kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to explain yourself, I’m just teasing.”

“I’m just surprised, I haven’t met a spy other than Barton that actually likes to cook. They never cared to learn between sparring lessons and the shooting range.” 

Sharon laughed. “Well you can thank my mother.” She hopped onto the counter as Steve rinsed the dishes. “She insisted I learn how to be a proper woman. I think she was hoping it would change my mind on following in Peggy’s footsteps. She always envisioned me growing up, getting married, popping out a few kids, and being the best housewife a man could ask for.” 

Steve gave a small laugh, “You must really disappoint her.”

Sharon shrugged, “I got over that a long time ago.” They fell into comfortable silence as Steve finished the dishes. He wiped his hands and tossed the towel on the counter. “Something on your mind?” Sharon could see he was mulling something over.

“Sharon, why did you turn me down for coffee that time in the hallway?” He looked almost bashful asking.

“Well I couldn’t exactly go out with the asset I was assigned to.”

“But you were single?”

“I was.” 

“How?” He asked bluntly.

Sharon looked up from her mug of tea to stare at him intently. “I grew up hearing stories about the amazing man my aunt loved.” Steve felt his face go warm. “She loved my uncle, but it wasn’t the same. She would never admit it, but I knew. It was in her eyes every time she spoke about you, you were different.” She paused, her gaze burning into him. “I grew up idolizing the love my Aunt had and knew when I was a young that I would never settle for anything less than that. I would never settle for a man that couldn’t meet the impossibly high standards she instilled in me. I would never settle for a man less than the man that swept the great Peggy Carter off her feet.”

“So you were looking for a superhero.” Steve frowned.

Sharon gave a small smile. “No, I was looking for a kid from Brooklyn.” Steve stared at her a long moment before cupping the back of her neck and kissing her fully on the lips.

—

“Richards, get off your phone before I run it over with this van.” Sharon snapped as she typed furiously on her laptop. She was annoyed and tired and overheating in their stupid surveillance van. It’d been almost a week since her last date with Steve and three weeks since she had heard from Natasha, she was starting to get concerned. Work was a disaster. Her boss was breathing down her neck about the stack of Hydra files on her desk. All she wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath, and call Nat.

“Alright crabby pants, it’s away.” Richards shoved his phone in his pocket before turning back to the screens. “We have full access to the security cameras. Just waiting on the target.”

“It’s 9:47. Where is he?” Annette checked her watch. “My intel said he has a meeting every Wednesday morning at 10 and always arrives to his office by 9:15.”

“Maybe we missed him?” Greg, their resident new-guy, commented.

“Not possible.” Richards quipped.

Sharon sighed. “Hack into his secretary’s computer, find out if his schedule changed.” She was getting a headache and the sirens coming down the street weren’t helping matters.

“Shit.” Richards threw open the back of the van as a dozen police cars pulled up to the building they were surveilling. “Sharon, we have a problem.”

—

“This is unacceptable Carter.” Sharon tried not to cringe as her boss threw down pictures of their dead target. “You were outside the goddamn building!” 

“The forensic investigator said Mr. Palmer’s body had been dead for at least 12 hours so he was killed last night. The police got the call when his secretary went to grab something from his office this morning and found him. There was no way of us knowing since his office has no security cameras.”

“It’s still unacceptable.” Sharon shut her mouth, annoyed. “Any leads on who is behind this?”

Sharon shook her head, “Security cameras all went black for about half an hour around 8:00 p.m. Nothing at the crime scene led us to a suspect, we’re waiting on CSI and forensics before we start pointing fingers.”

“The Winter Soldier?”

“There’s no evidence yet showing any signs that he had involvement.” Her boss huffed at her answer, making her want to roll her eyes. “Sir, I will notify you the moment I hear something.”

He nodded, “Go make a few calls and get them to hurry up.”

“Yes, sir.” She practically stomped out of his office only to be met by Richards in the hallway.

“Miss being with S.H.I.E.L.D. yet?” He smirked. Richards was her closest co-worker, the only one she confided in with how much she missed S.H.I.E.L.D. and how her former bosses weren’t quite as crabby as her current one.

“It’s like he’s mad that it’s not Barnes. You would think he’d be relieved that Barnes has been quiet since London.”

Richards slung an arm around her shoulders. “Share, you and I both know that man is incapable of being wrong. If he thinks it’s Barnes, he will find a way to convince everyone it is, even if every speck of evidence is saying it’s not.”

Sharon rolled her eyes. “Stubborn prick.” Richards laugh echoed down the hallway.


	20. Chapter 20

“Thanks for stopping by Agent Carter, I know you are a very busy woman.” Sharon simply nodded at the Coroner as she and Richards followed her through the morgue. “Given the sensitivity and urgency of the autopsy, I wanted to make sure you saw this first.” The Coroner pulled the drawer from the wall, revealing Mr. Palmer’s body. “We found this when we stripped him for the examination and called you straight away.”

She pulled back the sheet covering him and pointed to his upper left arm. Sharon and Richards moved around to see clearer.

“Is that a brand?” Richards was stunned.

“Yes, in the shape of a star and it’s fresh. It had to have been burned just before he was killed. Forensics didn’t pick it up because they didn’t strip the body at the scene.” 

Sharon’s stomach dropped. “Were his clothes burned?”

“No.” The Coroner moved to cover the body. “My best guess is the murderer stripped the arm to brand him, redressed him and shot him in the head shortly after, killing him.” She turned to Sharon. “This will go in my autopsy report Agent Carter and it will go public eventually.”

“Thank you.” Sharon slipped the a file containing photos of the body into her bag as her and Richards headed back to the car.

“What are you thinking?” Richards quietly asked.

“I’m thinking I am going to have a hard time convincing our boss that it’s not Bucky Barnes’ style to brand his victims with a star matching the one on his metal arm.”

“You know I’m on this case with you because I’ve extensively researched the Winter Soldier as part of my career and no, this isn’t his style. But, we have to take into account that his style was driven by Hydra,” Richards pulled her to the side of the hall as he lowered his voice, “we have no idea what his style is when he’s operating as himself.” Sharon averted his eyes, knowing he was right. “If more of our targets go down and this becomes a pattern, we are going to have to assume Barnes is doing this on his own accord.”

“I know.”

—

Sharon spent three days at the office trying to cover up the Palmer murder and fighting to keep his autopsy from going public as she prepped her next mission. She barely had time to speak with Steve and to be honest, she was happy for the excuse. She was finding it hard to not blurt out everything that was happening.

“Carter, my office, now.” Her boss appeared in front of her at 9:00 a.m. sharp. She followed him silently, he didn’t let her sit before he was throwing pictures down in front of her.

“Three people dead in Berlin this morning, all Hydra, all with stars burned on their arms. Explain this.”

Sharon narrowed her eyes. “I think you should be asking the Berlin office that.”

He frowned. “They are getting a lecture as well. How is he doing this? Why were you not on a plane yesterday to intercept this meeting?”

“Because you told me to let the Berlin office handle any leads overseas because it was not worth U.S. CIA resources anymore to go overseas for intelligence missions after our failed London mission.”

“Don’t give me excuses."

“Sir,” Sharon felt her temper rising. “Need I remind you, these men have enough evidence on their records to be brought into custody, no questions asked. You assigned me to gain intel on them before bringing them in. If you had just let me run my team how I wanted and bring these men in-“

“If we had brought them in, they would have never talked and all intel they have on current Hydra agents and bases would have been destroyed. We’ve discussed this extensively, Carter.”

“I’ve done my job exactly as you’ve asked. These deaths are not because my team hasn’t been investigating them, it’s because we haven’t been bringing them in like I’ve been urging you to order.”

Her boss turned to her, his eyes burned into hers with rage. She knew she was overstepping her boundaries. “Get this under control or it’s your job.”

“Yes sir.” She spat.

“I want you on a flight to Berlin tomorrow evening. Richards will go with you. I want a team assembled in Berlin and a new strategy to locate your targets and bring them in.”

“Yes sir.” 

By lunch, the coroners report for all three murders were leaked to the press which wouldn’t be so bad, if Palmer’s hadn’t been leaked as well, putting both the U.S. and Berlin CIA offices under fire. Her colleagues and now the world were convinced that the Winter Soldier was responsible for the murders. Sharon was not quite as convinced, but until they got to the bottom of it, she had no proof to clear his name.

“Sergeant Barnes is a world class assassin, who up until a few years ago, was a ghost story. You don’t truly believe he would start marking his victims to get attention?” Sharon argued to a room of agents, including her boss.

“She does have a point.” Someone chimed in.

“I believe someone is framing him.”

“Why would someone frame him?”

“I don’t know… maybe so that they don’t get caught themselves.” Richards snapped sarcastically.

“Do you have any proof Agent Carter?”

Sharon sighed. “No, only that the one time we physically encountered him in London, he let the target live… but we don’t have any proof either that it was him with all these other attacks. Plus, two of these attacks took place on American soil and the next in Berlin. There is absolutely no way he made it into the United States and back out without someone noticing. The FBI, CIA, U.S. Military, and the Avengers are all looking for him, how would he have gotten in and out without triggering any of these agencies?”

“That’s enough.” Her boss stopped all conversation. “I want all deaths dating back to the London mission and information on the Winter Soldier put into a file and ready for Carter’s team to take to Berlin. I want Barnes’ name and face on every media outlet in the next hour. I want him found.” The room jumped up and moved to leave. Sharon’s boss caught her arm. “Be ready to bring Barnes in by any means necessary, even if it’s in a body bag.” Sharon felt a lump grow in her throat.

—

Sharon’s nerves were on edge as she stood outside the Avengers Facility. She had called Steve immediately after her meeting and told him she needed to see him. She had spent the night at work getting ready before packing up what she needed and heading out to see Steve before her flight. She hadn’t slept and wasn’t sure she could even if she wanted. Her stomach was in knots. She had no idea how this was going to impact their relationship, but she was hopeful it wouldn’t completely ruin the last six months they had spent together.

FRIDAY gave her access to the building and she was surprised to find Thor thundering down the entry hall toward her with a large grin on his face. “Sharon!” He pulled her in for a hug. “Steve said you were coming this morning. You came on the perfect day! Come do the Hammer Challenge with the recruits!” He started ushering her down the hallway.

“Oh no, actually, I should really-“

“Sure you can! It’s fun!” His strong hand was pressed against her back, causing her to move forward with him whether she wanted to or not.

Natasha and Steve stepped out of a room to the left, interrupting Thor’s insistence on following him. Nat gave her a small smile and a wink. “Steve! You never told me Sharon was so beautiful. A rare beauty amongst the galaxies.” Sharon felt her cheeks flush at Thor’s words. 

Steve seemed to be a bit flushed as well. “We’ll catch up with you guys in a bit.” His hand came to the small of her back as he led her in the opposite direction. They were quiet until they entered his personal quarters. Sharon had barely slipped her bag off her shoulder when Steve turned and kissed her. Her heart leapt in her throat.

“How long are you going to be gone?” He asked between kisses.

“I don’t know.” He kissed her more firmly, causing her to stumble into the side of his desk. Sharon placed her hands on his chest and pulled away. “Steve.” He pulled her closer. “I don’t have a lot of time and I really need to talk-“ Kiss. “-to you about something.” She took a step back and firmly put him at arms reach. Steve could sense the seriousness in her voice and stepped back and sat down in his desk chair. Sharon perched herself on the corner of his desk.

“I never told you the specifics of my job at the CIA. I currently work in the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre. The Centre is based out of Berlin, but because of my connections with S.H.I.E.L.D. and my knowledge of HYDRA, I’ve been running a small unit out of the U.S.” Steve sat with his usual stoic expression. Sharon was having trouble reading him. “We’ve been gathering intel on known HYRDRA agents to try and source out any leads before arresting them.” She paused as her eyes trailed to the TV screen across the room where Bucky Barnes’ picture was staring back at them. Steve sighed and shut it off.

“This isn’t Bucky killing those men.”

“Steve… My unit was assigned to investigate all of those men.” He was watching her carefully. “I’ve been assigned to go to Berlin and put together a task force to search and arrest Bucky.” His shoulders tensed. “With the recent branding on all the bodies, the CIA is convinced Bucky is killing those men and my team has been assigned to bring him in.”

“And if he doesn’t go quietly?” He was furious. Sharon pursed her lips in silence. He stood suddenly, turning his back to her. “How long have you known that Bucky could be your target?”

“Since I was assigned to head the Hydra Task Force. Steve?”

“I think you should go.” His face was determined.

“When I was brought on, it was solely for Hydra Agents. Bucky wasn’t a priority so long as he was in hiding.”

“You lied to me, this whole time.”

“I didn’t lie, Bucky wasn’t my priority until recently.”

“You knew he could be though and you knew my relationship with him. You knew I’d been searching for him myself. What would you have done if I came home one day and told you I’d found him? Force me to take you to him and arrest him?” She had never seen him so angry.

“No, Steve, it’s not like that! I was hoping you would find him so that the CIA wouldn’t be in control of what happened next.”

“And what would happen next? You’d seize control of him over some bullshit decree and experiment on him?” He was standing at his full height, intimidating her for the first time since they’d met.

“I don’t know, but I know I didn’t want it to happen! I’ve been busting my ass to cover for Bucky and keep my boss from marking him a target! I’m on your side, I don’t think this is Bucky killing these men.”

“I don’t believe you.” Sharon’s blood boiled. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time, haven’t you? Have you even stopped lying since you pretended to be my neighbor Kate?”

“It was my fucking job!” She practically shouted. “And don’t you dare accuse me of lying and keeping secrets. You’re the one who never wanted to talk about Bucky! How was I supposed to tell you this when you couldn’t even be honest with me about your search for him!”

“So it’s my fault you had to lie to me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, I’m saying I was scared to tell you because I thought you would react like this! It’s no secret that Bucky can do no wrong in your eyes even when he is under Hydra control! How was I supposed to tell you that I was the one assigned to bring him in if he were ever to come out of hiding?!”

“By being honest and not waiting months and months to tell me.”

“You want me to be honest, here’s honest. It was Bucky who almost strangled me to death in London, how’s that for honesty?” Steve stood stunned. “He almost killed my target, my partner, and me, but he recognized the Carter name and he stopped and I convinced him to spare us all and leave. I believe he’s starting to remember who he is, that’s why I’ve been trying to keep the CIA off his back. I don’t think he killed those men.” She turned from Steve for a moment, taking a deep breath.

Steve softened for only a moment, “Why didn’t you tell me?” “How was I supposed to tell you that your best friend almost strangled me to death? You would have stormed out of my apartment, denied that it was true, and never trusted me again.”

“Yeah and with good reason.” There was his anger again. 

They both stood there, fuming at each other. Sharon was speechless, this was worse than what she expected and by the look on Steve’s face, he wasn’t going to get over this piece of news any time soon.

“So what now?” Sharon finally broke the silence.

“I think we’re done here.” Steve answered coldly.

Sharon gave a short nod before grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. “Fine, I’ll text you when I land safely in Berlin.”

“No. I mean, we are done. Us.” Sharon stared at him in shock. “This is over.” She stood stunned before finally turning for the door.

“It was foolish of me to ever think you would fully trust me after you found out who I was.” She said quietly as she turned back toward Steve. “And I was foolish to think that this could work. That you woke up in this time and were the same man that went into the ice all those years ago because you’re not. I firmly believe that man would have heard me out today and forgiven me for being human and making a mistake. Because that’s the man Peggy loved and who I thought maybe I could love too.” She gave him a sad smile and shut the door behind her before Steve could respond.

Sharon booked it down the hall, just wanting to get out of there as quick as possible before she lost control of her emotions.

“Sharon!” She internally swore as Thor came bounding up to her again. “Hurry, it’s not too late for the challenge!”

“Oh no, that’s a lovely offer, but I really should be going, I have a plane to catch.” She tried to politely decline.

“Nonsense, it will only take a moment!” He led her into a large training room where recruits were hanging out with Natasha, Vision, Wanda, and Sam. Everyone was laughing and having a much better time than Sharon. “This is Sharon, a noble contender!” Thor announced to a round a applause and cheers.

“He’s been watching the hall like a hawk for you.” Nat joked before worry overtook her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She asked quietly. 

“I… I’ll tell you later on the flight. I’ll call your secure line.” Sharon whispered back as quietly as possible. She knew Vision was probably listening without intending to. Hell, he probably heard the entire exchange in Steve’s office. 

“Whenever you are ready!” She turned at Thor’s voice as he gestured to his hammer that sat on a small platform. She gave him a small smile.

“May the odds be ever in my favor.” She joked as she grabbed the handle. She tugged and felt the world spin as the hammer scraped across the table before dragging her downward and stopping a foot from the floor. She stood completely stunned as she admired the heavy hammer dangling in her hand. She looked around the room, everyone was just as shocked as she was. Thor stood speechless, his mouth hanging open in surprise. Sharon didn’t know what to do, what to think. No one moved for a long minute.

“Look here.” She turned just as Nat snapped a picture of her. The flash blinded her for a moment, taking any wits that she was starting to regain away. Sharon watched as Nat’s eyes shifted behind her. She slowly followed her gaze to find Steve in the doorway, standing stunned.

“Congratulations Ms. Carter!” Vision finally spoke breaking everyone out of their spell.

“I… I should be going.” She quickly dropped the hammer so it thudded loudly to the floor before standing up straight again. Nat stood with a knowing smile as Sam and Thor began to approach her. “Nice to see you all.” She stammered as she all but ran out of the training room, ducking her head as she passed a still speechless Steve Rogers.

“Sharon!” She could hear Natasha running after her. Sharon didn’t look back, she threw herself down the hall and out of the building. She was embarrassed, shocked, and about to lose all control. Nat finally caught her at the car. “Sharon.”

“I told him.” Sharon blurted as she turned to her. She looked past Nat to see Barton, Sam, and Thor standing at the entrance of the facility. Thor was holding his hammer possessively. “I told him and he broke up with me.”

“I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to him.”

“No.” Sharon shook her head. “No, I knew this could never work. I think that’s why I waited so long to tell him. I knew this would be the end of it and I didn’t want,” She took a deep breath to steady her voice, “I didn’t want it to end.” She could see Sam start to slowly walk toward them, worry was evident on his face. She couldn’t face him right now. ”I have to go. I’ll call you when I land.” Nat nodded as Sharon ducked into the car and drove off.


	21. Chapter 21

“You knew Sharon was the CIA Agent in charge of Bucky.” It was statement, not a question.

“You’re interrupting my lunch.” It had been a week since Steve and Sharon’s fight. Nat didn’t even look up from the article she was reading on her tablet as Steve sat down across from her.

“You hinted that you knew who was in charge that day you told me the CIA was investigating him. Why didn’t you tell me it was Sharon?”

“Because it wasn’t my information to tell.”

“And since when has that stopped you?”

Natasha finally acknowledged Steve, looking him straight in the eyes. “Since you started acting genuinely happy for the first time since I met you.” She grabbed her tablet and remaining salad and started walking away.

“Nat. Natasha!” Steve was chasing after her.

She turned on him. “How can you forgive me for everything I’ve done in the past and you can’t forgive Sharon for doing her damn job?”

“This is different-“

“How?” She cut him off. “I told you not to worry about the CIA that day because I know Sharon and she would never go after Bucky willingly unless she had reason to.”

“She lied-“

“Everyone’s lied to you at some point Steve!” Nat almost shouted. “I’m sorry she didn’t tell you for so long, but did you ever ask her specifically what she does at the CIA? Did you ever give her an opportunity to talk about Bucky? Did you ever confide in her about Bucky? No, because Bucky was an off-limits topic. I don’t blame her for being scared to tell you! Hell, all of us here walk on eggshells every time Bucky comes up in conversation.”

“So the truth comes out, everyone thinks I’m crazy for thinking Bucky can still be his own person? That it’s crazy that we can find him and save him?”

“No one has said that. Everyone knows that Bucky is important to you, but you have to be realistic Steve. Bucky is out there somewhere, confused about who he is and what is happening to him and he’s dangerous until we can bring him in and keep him safe.”

Natasha could see Sam standing a few feet behind Steve, watching their loud exchange. She had no doubt Vision was somewhere listening in as well. “I am realistic. I know what he is capable of. I also know what the CIA is capable of if they find him first.”

“Then you should know that Sharon is the perfect person to be leading that investigation because that woman would never let anything unethical happen to Bucky under her watch. And if you want to be mad at her for not telling you she was in charge then you should be mad at me too. Hell, you should be mad at Fury! He’s the one who encouraged Sharon to take the job.”

“Fury?”

“He knew she would protect him at all costs, just like she protected you when she was Kate. And he knew if she got any hard leads on Bucky, she would pass them on so you could find him before the CIA did.”

“That’s enough.”

“You’re so stubborn. Here I am, telling you all the reasons why you should trust Sharon and forgive her, but you just won’t let yourself do it. Not to mention you saw her holding Thor’s goddamn hammer, which not even you can do and you still don’t believe she’s genuine. Unbelievable.” She turned and started down the hallway once more. “Don’t follow me Rogers.”

“Are you going to lecture me too?” Steve turned to Sam.

Sam shook his head. “If it was Riley, I’d probably do the same thing.” He paused, “but if it was Riley, out there confused and scared and being hunted by every top defense agency in the world, I wouldn’t mind having someone like Carter on the inside watching out for him.” He patted Steve on the shoulder, “Plus, it was kick-ass she was able to hold the hammer.” He gave Steve’s shoulder a squeeze before leaving him to ponder his thoughts.

—

The last week had been a nightmare for Sharon, not only was she still reeling from her breakup, but she was now in Berlin for an indefinite amount of time, staying in a crummy hotel with Richards, under constant pressure and with another branded dead body on her hands. The only thing keeping her together was Richard’s humor and the fact that he hadn’t brought up the fact that she quietly cried herself to sleep their first three nights in Berlin.

She stood in the shower for a long time, enjoying how the hot water made her muscles relax. She had been hitting the gym hard the last week in preparation for an encounter with Barnes and to relieve her pent up emotions.

“Share?” There was a knock before Richard’s cracked the door. “Sharon?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“We got another body. Boss wants us packed and on the tarmac in less than an hour.”

“Start packing, I’ll be two minutes.” Hot tears spilled over her cheeks mixing with the scalding water as the door shut. Harsh sobs wracked her body. Her breath came out ragged as she tried to control herself. “That’s enough Carter.” She whispered to herself. “Enough.” She turned the water off and wiped her eyes as she stared at herself in the large mirror. “Enough.”

—

They were in Madrid, Spain. Sharon couldn’t complain about this one, the weather was gorgeous and if she was lucky after all of this, she’d get to try some local food before jetting off to a new location. They checked out the crime scene and body, everything was the same as the other victims. The only good news out of this was that the body was found shortly after the murder. A 10 block radius was still being held and search units were frantically checking every last nook and cranny for Barnes.

“This is ridiculous, Barnes would have had plenty of time to clear the area, he’s not going to be found here.” Richards commented as Sharon watched a small unit of men enter a run-down apartment building. 

“I asked to call off the search, but since when does the Boss listen to his highly trained experts?” She rolled her eyes. “I’m getting a coffee.” She wandered down one of the secure side streets where a few small shops sat nestled. A flash of light caught her eye, causing her to veer toward a small second hand bookstore. She wandered in, her gut telling her something was not right. She gave a small smile to the girl at the counter before wandering into the tall stacks, a hand on her gun. There was sound behind her and suddenly she found herself pinned in a dark back corner, a hand on her mouth, and Bucky Barnes staring down at her.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” He whispered. “I haven’t killed anyone, let me explain.” Sharon gave a tentative nod before he slowly released his hand from her mouth.

She stared at him. He definitely looked better than the last time she saw him. His eyes were less haunted and hair nicely combed. He was wearing a casual hoodie and baseball hat to blend in. “Bucky.”

“I remember you from London. I remember everything. I’ve been trying to find you since Palmer’s death.” “Why?”

“Because someone is framing me and I need help finding out who.”

“Bucky, I have no leads on who this is and until we do, they are going to keep coming after you. You have to get out of here and go into hiding. If any surveillance cameras pick you up in this vicinity, they will hunt you down and stop you by any means necessary, whether there is proof or not that you killed that man today.”

“I’ve been tracking the murders, all of them worked for Hydra to control me. I came here hoping to catch who was killing these men.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I must have gotten there just after they killed him.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“No, but I found this.” He shoved a torn piece of paper into her hands. Her eyes went wide as she read it. “It’s a list of every known living Hydra member that worked on the Winter Soldier program. Their going down the list and killing them off. They’ve already crossed off all your victims.” Bucky finished. “You have access to find the remaining men on that list.”

“Where did you get this?” Sharon was in disbelief.

“I found it under a chair, someone must have been sloppy and dropped it.”

“Thank you.” She meant it. “You have to leave Madrid though, as soon as possible. The CIA will scour the city to find you. I have a safe house you can go to in London. A rundown apartment.” She pulled a notepad from her pocket and wrote down the address quickly. “Wait here until dark. Keep your head down and blend in. Take the train to London and go here.” She pointed at the address on the pad. “Keep your hood up and head down, London is full of cameras. The lock on the mailbox is easy to break into, the key is in there to get into the apartment. There’s cash hidden in the tank of the toilet that should last you a few weeks and a burner phone stashed in the kitchen cupboards. I’ll contact you when I think it’s safe.”

“Carter-“ 

“Sharon.” She gave him a small smile. “It’s Sharon. I’m going to clear your name, I promise.” She took a step out of the shadows, tucking her pad back into her pocket. “And when I do, I think you should seriously consider letting Rogers find you.”

“Steve?”

She gave a small nod. “I hate to say it, but he’s your best bet on rejoining society as a free man. I wrote his number down as well.” 

“What if I don’t want to join society?”

“Then he’s your best bet on getting off the grid and staying there.” She turned and headed for the door. She gave the girl at the counter another smile before heading back into the alley.

“There you are!” Richards was exiting the coffee shop, two coffees in hand. “I should have known you would wander off!”

“We need to go back to the crime scene.” She quietly told him.

“What? Why?” He handed her the extra coffee. She glanced around the small street before handing him the torn piece of paper. “Holy fuck, where did you get this?”

“Nowhere that I can explain to the CIA. We need to go back to the crime scene and plant this list somewhere in the room and pretend to find it.”

“Sharon, what have you done?”

She turned on him, lowering her voice even more. “You told me you didn’t believe this was the Winter Soldier doing this, this is how we prove it.”

“Where did you get this?” He asked once again.

“I’ll tell you when I know we’re completely alone.”

—

“Alright, settle down! Carter got us a win today, but this isn’t over.” Since Sharon’s ‘discovery’ at the crime scene, the whole team had been abuzz. They had quickly packed up and headed back to Berlin to debrief. She couldn’t walk five feet within the building without getting a pat on the back or round of applause. Her evidence was the biggest lead the CIA had in the investigation and within the Agency in a while. Though, most were convinced it was a lead to find that Barnes was behind all of this.

“Every Hydra agent on that list is being located now. We will have all the information we need within the hour. Carter and her team will stake out at the next target on the list while teams will be sent to every other location. We are not going to miss Barnes this time.” Sharon resisted rolling her eyes at her boss. 

“I want everyone on high alert. Barnes is armed and dangerous. He should be detained at all costs otherwise shoot on site if there is no other option.” He flipped through multiple photos of Barnes on the screen before landing on a photo of Steve Rogers. Sharon felt Richards nudge her under the table. “I also want everyone on alert for Captain Rogers. We have knowledge he has been trying to locate Barnes since the S.H.I.E.L.D. incident.” Sharon avoided her boss’ eyes. “Rogers has no authority to detain Barnes over any intelligence agency, however, we know that will not stop him. He has a flare for heroics and using his fame as America’s Golden Boy to get what he wants.” Sharon felt her blood boil. She may be mad at Steve, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear her boss shit-talk his character.

They were dismissed shortly after. Sharon and Richards found themselves loaded onto a private jet with their team a few hours later. They were waiting for the jet to be fueled and be cleared for take off. Sharon excused herself to the small bathroom at the rear of the plane. She pulled out her private phone and dialed Natasha’s number.

“It’s safe.”

“I can’t say the same for my end.” Sharon glanced around the small bathroom, there was a strong chance it was bugged. The CIA doesn’t take chances on having a mole in the Agency. “I just wanted to call and tell you I won’t be able to meet you this weekend in London, I am being sent on a last minute work trip.”

“What’s in London this weekend?” After years of manipulating conversations to give each other intel, they had gotten great at picking up on fake conversations.

“I know, it’s such a bummer. I really wanted to see your new place! You know, it’s really close to an old apartment that my Aunt Peggy had before she enlisted. I was hoping to see if I could find it and get a picture.”

“Your safe house?” Nat sounded confused. “Is it compromised?”

“No, it’s okay, I’m sorry I have to cancel.”

“What’s at the safe house?”

“I was excited to meet your new boyfriend too. Your pictures from your trip to Italy together were fantastic! The sun, the beach, it looked perfect. And I told you that new bikini would look great on you, you could barely see the scar from your surgery, you were worried for nothing!” The line was quiet for a long moment. Sharon waited anxiously, hoping Natasha was understanding what she was trying to say. 

“You sent Barnes to your safe house? How?”

“Yeah, well hopefully we can reschedule my trip to London soon! I can’t wait to see you and catch up.”

“Call me when it’s safe. I’ll let Steve know.”

“Yep, you too. Bye.” She sighed as she hung up the phone. That was one of hardest fake conversations she’d had in a long time. Thank God Natasha always joked about how she couldn’t wear bikinis anymore since her first encounter with Barnes. There was no way she could have openly tell her Bucky Barnes was headed to her safe house in London on a CIA private jet.


	22. Chapter 22

“I’ll call Natasha and tell her the lead was false.”Sam patted Steve’s shoulder as he stepped into the small bathroom of Sharon’s safe house.Natasha was sent on another mission so Sam was unfortunately the new keeper of secrets.He hated lying to Steve, but he and Nat both agreed Steve wasn’t ready to take any leads directly from Sharon.So instead they lied and said the lead came from a former spy that thought they saw someone similar to Bucky’s description squatting in this apartment.

Sam stepped into the bathroom and dialed Sharon’s number.“Carter.”

“It’s Sam.”

“Just a moment.”He heard rustling and then the distinct sound of a shower running.She was always extra careful when it came to her phone calls.“Did you find him?”

“He’s not here.”

“He’s not there?He should have gotten there two days ago.”

Sam sighed.“The key was in the mailbox and it doesn’t look like anyone has been here.”

“Check the toilet.”

“Excuse me?”Check the toilet, hell no he was not going to check the toilet.

Sharon sighed.“The tank, check the tank.I told him about the money stashed in there.”

Sam jammed the phone between his shoulder and ear before slowly lifting the lid of the tank.He tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to tip off Steve to what he was doing.“It’s empty.”

“Check the cabinet in the kitchen on the far left, top shelf.I have a burner phone stashed there.”

“Give me a minute.”He exited the bathroom and glanced around for Steve.He was grumbling to himself near the door.“Do you think we should check the roof just in case he was here and caught site of us and tried to bail?”

Steve glanced toward the ceiling before sighing.“I’ll check it out.” 

Sam waited until he left the apartment to hurry to the cabinets.“Nice move.”Sharon commented.

“No phone.Do you think a squatter found them or Bucky?”

“It had to have been Bucky, you’d know if a squatter was there, they don’t clean up after themselves.If the apartment seems untouched, he must have gotten in to get the cash and phone before moving on.”

  
“But why?”

“He knows he’s being framed.He either went into hiding with the money or he’s headed to the next target.”Sharon sighed.“I’ll try calling the burner again and seeing if he answers.I’m guessing since he didn’t stay at the safe house, he won’t.I’ll also let you know if he shows up at my next target location.Be ready, if the CIA finds him first, I don’t know what they’ll do at this point.We have orders to shoot on sight if he presents as a threat.”

“Noted.Thanks Carter.” 

“Good luck.”

“Hey-“He paused for a moment.“I want you to know that I trust you and you know I don’t like to meddle, but I understand why you did what you did.I’d been telling Steve for months to open up to you about Bucky.”

Sharon was quiet for a long minute.“Thank you, that means a lot.”

“He won’t say it, but he misses you.” 

“Well he sure has a funny way of showing it.”She gave a small laugh.“I better go.Keep me posted on your end.”

“Will do.”He hung up just as Steve came back.“Anything?”

“No.”

—

Steve sighed against the hard chair on the jet.He was getting tired of this.Tired of the endless search for Bucky.Every lead made him hopeful then disappointed.When the search began, he thought it would only be a matter of time before Steve found him and reintroduced Bucky to society as a changed man.As time went on, he hoped that Bucky would start to remember him and want to be found.Want to reunite with Steve and be friends again, be a functioning member of society again.Now he didn’t know what to think.His best friend was still out there with no apparent intention to be found by anyone.But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be found and Steve wasn’t confident anymore that he would be the one to find Bucky first.He knew the CIA was eager to find him now that they had a handful of murder victims in their morgue.

His thoughts shifted to Sharon.He was still so angry at her, yet he missed her at the same time.He couldn’t deny the fact that he was much more lonely without her in his life.He missed hearing her voice, her smile, her sharp wit.He missed everything about her until he thought about that last day in his office.That day filled him with a sickening mix of emotions.Angry at her lies and argument until he thought about the moment he broke up with her.He couldn’t get the image of her eyes out of his mind.Heartbroken was the only word he could put to that moment.She was so heartbroken, a look he had only seen when Peggy passed.He was disgusted that he was the reason for that.

And then she had held Thor’s hammer, something even he couldn’t do.He had strolled into the training room to busy his mind. Not knowing Thor had dragged Sharon in there only to find her standing there with the hammer.He still couldn’t place the mix of emotions he felt in that moment.Anger?Shock?Pride?She had met his eyes only for moment, surprised at what was happening to her.Then she was shoving past him to flee.Steve had excused himself to his office after that, his mind a muddle of events and emotion.He still couldn’t process everything that had happened in that confusing hour.

But now here he was, still confused about his emotions.The only thing he wasn’t confused about was that he was unhappy and lonely.Almost as lonely as when he woke up from the ice. 

He rested back against the seat and let his eyes slide shut.“We’ll find him, man.Bucky can’t hide forever.”Sam commented beside him.

“It’s not just Bucky.”Steve admitted for the first time.

Sam nodded.“I know.Want to talk about her?”

“Sharon said something to me before she left that day.She said, ‘I was foolish to think this could work.To think that you woke up in this time and were the same man that went into the ice because you’re not.I believe that man would have heard me out and forgiven me for being human and making a mistake.’”He was quiet for a long moment.“I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Do you believe what she said?”

Steve stared out the window.“She’s right that I’m not the same person that went into the ice.But I think she’s wrong that I came out of the ice different.I think I woke up the same and have since lost sight of that part of me somewhere along the way.That’s what bothers me most about it.”

“I didn’t know you before, but if I had to guess, she’s wrong.And you’re wrong to think you lost sight of that part of yourself.I think you were just upset with the situation.Even you can’t be perfect all the time.”Steve gave a small laugh, he definitely wasn’t perfect.

“Were we stupid to think we could make a relationship work?”Steve continued to look out the window.

“Not all couples work out and some break ups are messy, it’s how life works.No one knows if the relationship is going to work out in the beginning.But that doesn’t mean it was all a waste of time if at some point you were truly happy.”

“Do you think I made a mistake?”

Sam looked him in the eye.“I think that’s something for you to decide.”

—

Sharon stared at the phone in front of her, contemplating whether to reach out to Bucky or not.She had her messaged typed, but every time she went to hit send she hesitated.She knew he wasn’t in London which meant he didn’t want anyone to know where he was.She knew he wouldn’t respond, but that wasn’t the point. 

What the hell, it was a secure line any way so it wasn’t hurting anything to send the message.She pushed send before she could hesitate again.Done.She reread the message, confident that he would at least appreciate someone was looking out for him in this mess.

**I know you’re not in London.Keep a low profile and call this number if you need anything, it’s secure.When you are ready, Steve’s secure line is 18215559600.-S. Carter**


	23. Chapter 23

Sharon’s team was stationed in a small fishing town on the coast of Ireland.Their target, Greggory Mano, had been hard to track down as he had slipped off the grid after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.Sharon’s best guess is that he moved there to hide out from both the government and Hydra themselves.Because of the size of the town and low tourist-rate, Sharon’s team went from eight to three.Sharon, Richards, and her communications specialist, Dave Reynolds, were posing as three siblings backpacking through Ireland as a tribute to their beloved Irish mother who passed away a year ago.They were booked at the only Bed & Breakfast in town which held a whopping twelve guests.

Sharon couldn’t complain too much though, the view was spectacular and the hospitality couldn’t be beat.They spent the first day of their stay setting up their equipment, mapping out the town, and bugging Mano’s home while he was gone to the pub (to which Richards happily volunteered to go undercover at.)Dave hacked Mano’s computer while Richards found a way to hack his phone with a beer in his hand.

While the boys pretended to be interested in the local fishing, Sharon played the part of photography enthusiast.She spent the majority of the next day photographing the town and subtly following Mano about his day off.On day three, she found herself parked at the only coffee shop in town which sat on their Main Street.Mano’s work sat in an old building across the street.She finished an entire book before wandering into every local shop on the street.She leisurely wandered back to the Bed and Breakfast after Mano beelined to the pub Richards was planted at again. 

Sharon sat on the large porch and watched the sun set before eating dinner with the boys and briefing each other on their day.After an hour of watching Mano sit in front of his TV through the surveillance cameras, she excused herself to the bathroom for a hot bath.She sunk deep into the clawfoot tub.She sighed to herself, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been this relaxed.If it weren’t for their equipment, she could almost trick herself into thinking she was on vacation.She went to bed early that night.

The morning of day four was spent near the ocean.Sharon hiked to a small local spot the owner of the small coffee shop recommended.Of course it was too cold to enjoy the water, but Sharon was content sitting and staring at the vast blue before her.Dave and Richards were on Mano duty while she kept their cover of tourist. 

Sharon sat there all morning with her small picnic.Her mind drifted with the crashing waves.She thought of her job, her parents, Natasha, but most of all Steve.She was still so mad at him yet she missed him so much her chest ached.She wondered what he was doing at that moment, was he thinking of her?Did he miss her?Or was he still cursing her name?She considered calling him, but every time she reached for her phone her mind screamed at her that it was over.That he didn’t want to speak with her.

She couldn’t get him off her mind.His smile.His laugh.The way he would look at her right before he would kiss her.She could still feel his lips on hers, how excited he was to kiss her in his office.If she had known that would be their last kiss, she wouldn’t have pushed him away to talk.She would have savored it for as long as possible.

Every happy memory flooded over her as she stared out at the ocean.But with every memory came Steve’s final words.“We are done.Us.This is over.”Tears flowed freely as his harsh words cut off every loving memory.

She slipped her phone out of her pocket and pulled up Steve’s number.The salty breeze kissed her face as she slowly typed out what could possibly be the last thing she ever said to him. 

**I’m still out of town, please grab your things from my apartment and leave anything of mine you have before I get back.Leave your key on the counter and lock the door behind you.Goodbye Cap.**

She sent it without hesitation.This was the moment, staring out at the vast ocean, Sharon was letting Steve go.

She sat there for hours, slowly eating her lunch and giving herself to her memories.It was surprisingly therapeutic to let a piece of Steve go with every crash of the waves.When she finally returned to the B&B that afternoon, Richards was charmingly baking cookies with the woman who owned the place while Dave sat at his computer in the den.

“Anything?”Sharon asked as she sat down next to him.

Dave glanced over his shoulder at Richards and Nancy.“He got an email late this morning to be at the local diner around 7pm.No name and I can’t trace the address it came from.”

Sharon frowned.“It can’t be our suspect, can it?None of the previous victims were killed in public places.”

“I don’t know, but I guarantee it has something to do with Hydra.Why else would it be untraceable?”

Sharon pursed her lips.“Well let’s get set and head over there early.That way we can blend in with the other diners.”

An hour later the trio found themselves settled into a booth at the diner.They ordered a plate of fries to share and a round of soda.Greggory Mano arrived precisely on time and sat down in the back corner booth near the kitchen and restrooms. 

“There’s too many people here, we aren’t going to be able to isolate his conversation enough to be able to hear what they’re saying.”Dave informed them as Mano spoke to the waitress.

“I’m on it.”Sharon grabbed a bug from her pocket and headed toward his table.The diner was small causing people to angle themselves to pass each other.Sharon timed herself to pass his table just as a waitress exited the kitchen with a large tray.She angled herself up against Mano’s booth, her hand slipping discreetly under the table to plant the bug before heading into the bathroom. 

She stood in the bathroom a few minutes, staring at her reflection.She may be on a mission, but the open air and sea were doing great things to relax her.She wore no make up as part of her cover and Sharon couldn’t remember the last time her skin looked so refreshed.She could see a few light freckles splashed on her cheeks and nose and her eyes were brighter than ever.Her day at the ocean apparently did more to rejuvenate her than she realized. 

“Sharon we have a situation.”Richards quietly spoke into her ear.

“I’ll be out in a moment.”She tucked her loose hair behind her ear.

“No.”Sharon stood confused, her hand hovering over the door handle.“You’re old friend Brock Rumlow is here.He’s Mano’s contact.”Sharon’s blood ran cold.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yeah, I’d recognize his mangled mug anywhere.”

“If he recognizes me the mission is over.”Sharon spoke back.

“The bug you planted is good up to 100 feet.We’re paying the bill now.Meet us outside, keep your head low.”Sharon pulled her knit hat from her pocket and shoved it on her head before exiting the bathroom.She walked straight past Mano’s table and to the entrance, stopping only for a moment to let another patron pass.She fell into step with Dave and Richards as they headed to a small park across the street.

“Anything yet.”Sharon glanced over her shoulder.

“Mano ordered burgers and fries to go.”Dave muttered as they sat on a nearby bench.He pulled a small laptop from his backpack and set it in his lap.

“This isn’t suspicious at all.Three Americans sitting in a dark park with a laptop.”Richards mocked.Sharon gave a small smile.He wasn’t wrong.

“Once he gets his food, we need to be clear of here.Rumlow can’t see me.”

“Why don’t you head out?Dave and I can meet you back at the B&B.”Sharon nodded at Richards suggestion.She headed quickly for the B&B and up to their room.Dave returned twenty minutes later.“Anything?”

Dave shook his head.“Only curt goodbyes.The rest of the time I could only hear shuffling.Richards took a look through the window, they were passing a small notebook back and forth.They must have been communicating through that.”

“Damn.Where’s Richards?”

“Making sure Rumlow isn’t staying here.”Sharon felt a shot of panic go through her body.She hadn’t thought of that.They were at the only lodging in the town.Her eyes were wide as Richards entered the room.

“He got in a truck and was headed out of town.”Sharon sighed in relief at Richards words.“Hopefully he won’t return.”

“If he does, I’m out of this mission.”


	24. Chapter 24

Steve stood awkwardly in Sharon’s empty apartment.It felt familiar yet strange to be there after everything that had happened.It had been a few days since he received the text from Sharon to pick up his things.The message had stopped him in his tracks.He wasn’t sure if it was the curtness of her words or the fact that it meant she was officially done with him that made his stomach churn.He couldn’t get his conversation with Sam out of his mind.With every passing day he wondered more and more if he had made a mistake in breaking up with Sharon.He knew he had let his temper get the best of him and now he was paying the price. 

He felt like an intruder as he moved to her bedroom to grab the few clothing items he had left.He shoved them in his duffle as memories of Sharon flickered across his eyes.He hurried into the bathroom and dumped his toiletries into the bag.He made his way back to the kitchen and began tugging the key to her apartment off his keyring.He set it gingerly in the middle of the counter.

_“Steve?”She whispered so softly he almost didn’t hear it.They had been lying in bed for hours, Sharon with her head on his chest, talking and laughing as if they both didn’t have to be up early in the morning.Their conversation had slowly trailed off to where Steve’s eyes began to feel heavy and slip shut._

_“Steve?”_

_“Hmm?”He hummed as his eyes slowly slid open to find her staring up at him._

_“I’m going to make you a key.”_

_“A key?”He perked up._

_“Yeah, I feel bad when I get delayed at work and you are stuck waiting for me in the hall.Plus, Nat is the only other person with a spare and I’ve been meaning to give another one to someone in case of an emergency.We’re getting more serious and you stay here often enough.It only makes sense to give one to you.”  
“Are you sure?”_

_“Yes.”She kissed him firmly.“Unless you are going to tell me how back in your day it was improper to have a key to the place of the woman you were courting.”She smiled widely at him._

_“Well I am a proper gentleman.”_

_“Bullshit Rogers.”_

_“Language Carter.”_

_“Fu-“He flipped her over and kissed her, thoroughly cutting off her next string of curse words.She melted into him as his hands drifted down her naked body._

His phone buzzed loudly in his pocket, startling him out of his memories.He glanced at the number, not recognizing it before answering.He held it to his ear for a moment.

“Who is this?”

There was a long pause.“It’s me.”

Steve froze.“Bucky?”

“I need your help.”

—

“Look who we have here boys!My old friend Agent 13.”They had been ambushed.Mano had received coordinates with a time to meet a few days prior.Sharon, Richards, and Dave had prepped and carefully laid out their mission following up to this day.They researched the old warehouse and drew up the blueprints to know the layout and exits.They had shown up hours early to set up surveillance to stake out the building.They entered the warehouse to have it locked behind them with large team of men waiting.Brock Rumlow was standing at the front of them.

The three of them had scattered, each of them running for cover once shots rang out.Sharon had fought her way into the abandoned office alongside Richards.She had thrown herself at three men to let Richards get away and hopefully call for back up.She took all three down before more arrived and quickly overpowered her.One large punch to the face had knocked her to her knees and given them the chance to grab her.

Sharon once again found herself captured in order to save her team.She kicked and thrashed to no use as two of Rumlow’s men dragged her back into the open warehouse.Panic shot through her as she saw Dave tied to a chair with a gun to his head.She was hauled forward until she was standing in front of him.

“Did you miss me?I missed you Carter.I was mad when you didn’t say hi to me in that diner.”Rumlow laughed.“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”

Sharon watched him as he circled her.“I would recognize that ass anywhere.”He slapped her hard on the rear before shoving her to her knees.She stared forward at the frightened eyes of Dave.“It was the highlight of my day when I got to watch you in those tight skirts at work.Or those nights when Cap and I would conveniently run into you in the hallway of your apartment.”He bent down in front of her.“All I wanted to do was shove you back into that apartment and have my way with you.Though I think you would have much rather had Cap have his way with you.” 

He was trying to get a reaction out of her.She narrowed her eyes as him.“Oh yeah, I saw the way you looked at him.”He leaned in close.“And I heard about your secret relationship too.”He looked around the building.“But, where’s your boyfriend now?Because it looks like he’s not here to give some heroic speech this time.”

He grabbed her arm and shoved her sleeve up to reveal the scar he left.“Still think I’m on the wrong side?Hail Hydra.”A chorus of ‘Hail Hydra’ echoed from his men.

“Fuck you.”She yanked her arm from his grip. 

“You always were a feisty one.”He leaned in even closer, she could feel his breath on her face.Sharon spat in his face.Anger flashed in his eyes.He stood slowly and backed away from her.He laughed out-loud and before Sharon could blink he had pulled out his gun and shot Dave in the head.Blood splattered across her.The world spun on its axis as Sharon stared at Dave’s unseeing eyes.This was her fault, she should have known better than to open her mouth.Her stomach lurched as she fell forward on her hands to vomit.

Rumlow was yelling in disgust, but all she could hear was static.His gun pressed harshly to her temple bringing her back to reality.“Fucking hell Carter!”She reacted quickly, knocking his gun from her head while swiping his legs out from under him.She shot down two men before someone grabbed her from behind with force. 

“Don’t shoot!”Rumlow yelled as guns raised in her direction.She screamed out in pain as they twisted her arm until she released the gun.Rumlow laughed as he picked himself back up.He pointed his gun at her once again.

“I should have killed you that day at the Triskelion.”

“What’s stopping you now?”She spat.

“I know you have another friend around here.You’re going to watch us kill him before you get your turn.And maybe we’ll have a little fun before I decide to kill you.”He winked at her before motioning at a few of his guys.“Go find him.”

Shots rang out suddenly and the arms holding Sharon went limp as the man fell to the floor.“SNIPER!”Chaos followed as Rumlow’s men started open firing in every direction.Sharon ducked as she made a break for it.

“I don’t think so!”Rumlow ran full force into her causing them both to crash to the floor.She punched and kicked, trying to get out of his grasp.She threw a hard blow to his mangled ear causing him to roll off her.She stumbled to her feet and screamed as he caught hold of her arm and pulled it out of the socket.She planted a kick to his chest as she yanked her limp arm from his grasp.She clutched it tightly to her as she ran full speed and threw herself through the door leading to the back half of the building.She weaved in and out of old machinery.

“Carter!”Rumlow was behind her.

“Sharon!”Richards was suddenly 50 feet ahead of her, motioning for her to hurry.He raised his gun and shot over her shoulder. 

Pain exploded through her body suddenly causing her to sink to her knees.She shakily brought a hand to her chest to find it covered in blood.The world went silent as she looked up at Richards.She’d been hit.He was still firing behind her as he yelled.Sharon watched as he took a bullet to the shoulder, knocking him off his feet.

There was screaming in her ears that Sharon recognized as her own.She half crawled toward Richards as she held her dislocated arm to her open wound.Her free hand was sticky with sweat and blood and shaking uncontrollably under her own weight.

“Richards.”She whispered to herself as she put a hand to his neck.He was still alive. Shots were still being fired throughout the building.She didn’t know who was causing the commotion, but she was grateful for the opportunity to get away.She was hoping Richards had found a way to send out a signal for help after they were separated. 

Sharon grabbed him under the arm and started to drag him out of sight.Her body ached in protest as she dropped to the floor in defeat.She stared down at Richards, praying that he was going to be okay.She knew Rumlow was going to find her here, but she didn’t care.She wasn’t going to leave Richards alone as he slowly bled out.Not after watching Dave die at her hands.

“You bitch.”She didn’t turn as she felt Rumlow’s gun to the back of her head.This was it, she could feel it with every fiber of her being.This was the moment she was going to die.“Look at me!”She cried out as he jammed his gun into her wound.

“Look at me!”She stared at the cement floor.She could see a perfect handprint in blood.She wasn’t going to play Rumlow’s sick game.Her mind was going dizzy from the pain.“Look at me or I kill him.”She glanced at Richards before slowly turning toward Rumlow.She turned to meet his eyes before his boot came down to meet her face.Sharon’s world went black with the force of his kick.She blinked her vision back into focus.He was laughing as she struggled to turn herself back toward him.She refused to give him the satisfaction of defeat.

“Get up and fight me.I want to see how easy it is to beat one of S.H.I.E.L.D.S. top agents to death.The famous Sharon Carter!”He announced loudly as if they were in a boxing ring.“Let’s see who was truly more fit to protect Captain America.” 

Sharon stumbled to her feet and stood shakily before him.“It’s sad you had to shoot me in order for it to be a fair match.”She smirked at him.

He narrowed his eyes before swinging madly at her.She lifted her only good arm in defense.They fought, her on the defense and getting a good kick in here and there.She could barely keep up.Her defense slipped for a moment and before she knew it she was on the ground again.Rumlow laughed as he yelled at her to get back on her feet.She spied a broken piece of pipe and grabbed it quickly. 

She hit him hard on the wrist with it as she jumped to her feet causing him to yell out in pain.She smacked him across the face leaving a deep gash.He growled in anger as he charged at her.He knocked her back down to her knees.She hissed in pain as her raw knees scraped against the harsh concrete.He ripped the pipe from her weakening grasp and raised it.Her eyes widened.One hard blow to the head and she’d be done.She raised her arm to defend herself when a metallic whistling cut through the air.Rumlow grunted in surprise.Sharon watched as his eyes rolled back into his head and he crumpled to the floor.

“Sharon!”Steve Rogers was running toward her.She forced herself to her feet with the little strength she had left and straight into his open arms.

“Steve!”He stumbled back as he caught her.Her arm clung tightly to him as she buried her face into his neck.Her body was shaking uncontrollably against him.

“I got you.”He whispered into her ear as he stroked her hair.“I got you.You’re safe.”She held him tightly, hardly believing he was there.

“We need a medic team ready for our arrival.”Sharon pulled away from Steve to find Sam Wilson crouching over Richards.“He’s alive.”He did a double take before moving to Sharon.“You’re shot.”He pulled her slowly to the ground with the help of Steve. 

“How?” Sharon asked.

“Building is secure.”Bucky appeared over Steve’s shoulder.He nodded at her.

“Bucky called.Said you were in trouble.”Steve answered as Rumlow started to stir next to them.“We need to move.We’ll fill you in on the helicopter.”

Fifteen minutes later Sharon found herself sitting in a helicopter with no doors over the ocean.A ground military team had arrived to take care of the mess of dead bodies while Sharon and a delirious Richards were piled into a small helicopter with Sam, Bucky, Steve, and a restrained Rumlow.A Naval ship was parked off the coast with a medical team ready to patch them up and a jet waiting to take them home.

Sharon sunk back into her seat as Steve held bandages to her wound.Bucky sat across from her, putting pressure on Richard’s wound while Sam piloted.She was relieved when Sam reported that Richards’ wound wasn’t deadly as long as he got medical care.It was a clean shot that hadn’t hit anything major.The same went for Sharon’s wound, however, with Rumlow’s beating and dislocated shoulder, she was in much worse shape.She had argued with Sam to pop her shoulder back in, but he refused until they reached the ship. 

Sharon had just let her eyes slip shut when the chopper jolted.In the blink of an eye, Rumlow broke out of his restraints and knocked Bucky over the head with Steve’s shield.Bucky slumped to the floor as Rumlow slipped the gun from his pocket.Steve punched at him only to have his fist meet his own shield. 

“Sharon!”Sharon pulled herself from her seat to catch the gun Sam threw over his shoulder.She fumbled before raising it to Rumlow just as Rumlow raised his to them.Steve put himself in front of her.

“Just put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”Steve tried to rationalize.

“No.Tell your bird man to turn this chopper around and take me back to shore and no one gets hurt.”Rumlow stood strong with the shield, his gun steady.Sharon clicked the safety off her gun in warning.Rumlow shifted the gun to point at her and Steve shifted to block her as he raised his hands.

“You know we can’t do that.Put the gun down and we’ll work out a deal.”

Rumlow slowly raised his gun in a sign of defeat.Sharon watched with bated breath as Steve reached out to grab the surrendered weapon.Just as Steve reached to take it, Rumlow reacted.Punches flew and shots rang out.Rumlow hit Steve hard with the shield forcing him off his feet and straight into Sam.

Time slowed as the helicopter tipped.Sharon felt her feet leave the floor as her body began to free fall.Her only usable arm flailed wildly as she felt her body tumble out the open side.Her hand grasped something solid and she hung on tight.She screamed as something heavy grabbed onto her causing her to almost lose her grip.She looked down to find Rumlow holding tightly to her leg.

“Sharon, hang on!”Sharon looked up to find she had grabbed Bucky’s boot in her fall.He was still unconscious and had toppled out of the chopper with her and Rumlow.Steve was hanging half out of the helicopter, one arm holding himself to the chopper and the other holding Bucky.Sharon could see that Richards was still securely strapped in his seat as well as Sam. 

“Cap!Some of the electrical was hit, I’m having a hard time keeping her steady!”Sam shouted.Rumlow was shouting something up at her as he continued to claw at her to keep his grip.She was getting dizzy, she had lost too much blood to exert herself for much longer.Her fingers were cramping, she wasn’t going to be able to hold on long with just one hand.Steve was trying to pull up Bucky, but with the extra dead weight and holding himself to the chopper, he was struggling.The helicopter jolted and Sharon felt her fingers slip.

“Cap!”She shouted up at him.

“Hang on!” 

“Steve!”His eyes met hers.

“Sharon no!”He immediately knew what she was thinking.Rumlow was furiously yelling at her from below, but she didn’t hear him.

“I’m sorry.”

“I can pull you up!Hang on!”She could see him straining against their dead weight.

“Steve!”He met her eyes again.She could see the defeat in his eyes.She could see his heart breaking.He knew what she had to do. 

“I love you.”She let go.She had thought she was going to die earlier at Rumlow’s hands and now she was going to die by her own choice.Steve’s face flashed before her eyes one last time as she hit the cold water and everything went black.


	25. Chapter 25

“Go back!Turn around!”Steve shouted as he dragged Bucky’s unconscious bodyback into the helicopter.

“I can’t Steve!Something in the control panel is messed up, I barely have control.”Sam argued.

“We have to go back for her!”Bucky started stirring on the floor.“I didn’t go back for Bucky, I have to go back for Sharon!She could still be alive!”He looked out over the ocean and all he could see were the endless crashing waves.

“I’m sorry Steve, but I can’t!”Sam grabbed the radio.“We need assistance, we have a man in the water and a busted chopper.Repeat, we need assistance.”

“Sam turn us around!I’m not asking!”

“And I’m telling you I can’t or we are all going down.I’m sorry.”

Steve felt his world shift and body go numb.Bucky was suddenly holding him by the front of his suit as he helped Steve into the closest seat.His world was crashing down on him.She was gone.He met Bucky’s eyes.He could hardly believe this was reality.

“We’ll find her Steve.She’s strong.”Bucky put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

When their helicopter finally reached the Naval Ship, Sam all but dropped them onto it.Everything after that was a blur for Steve.Medics rushed to grab Richards while officers stood ready to detain Bucky.Steve watched numbly as Bucky raised his arms in surrender and was led out of sight. 

“Captain Rogers, I need a word with you!”The First Officer of the Ship was before him suddenly.“That briefcase you brought along from Mr. Stark blasted open and a suit went flying off the ship without authorization.It nearly took out five of my men.”Steve stopped listening as he continued to survey the scene around him.

Sam was furiously talking to the medics as he jumped into a rescue chopper that was ready to take off.“Cap!”He turned to Sam.“Are you coming?”

—

_“This is beautiful.”Sharon said as she sipped her tea in the oversized white mug Steve handed her._

_“You’re beautiful.”And he meant it.She had never looked so beautiful to him as she did in this moment.They were having a weekend getaway at Barton’s tiny house on the lake.Barton had extended the small awning off the side of the house and hung string lights._

_Sharon sat in one of the Adirondack chairs in an oversized knit sweater and shorts.Her hair was loose and curly and she didn’t have a stitch of make up on.They had spent the day walking the lake and fishing before curling up with a pot of tea to watch the sun set._

_Sharon smiled shyly.“I love you.”_

_“I love you more.”Her heart always fluttered when he responded that way.She set her mug down as he entwined their fingers.“Marry me?”_

_She gave a small laugh.“Very funny Steve.”_

_He slipped out of his chair and onto his knee as he pulled a ring from his pocket.“I’m not joking.Will you marry me Sharon Carter?”He hadn’t necessarily planned to propose this way, but in this moment it felt perfect.Just the two of them enjoying a beautiful, yet unremarkable evening.A large smile spread across her face as she leaned forward to kiss him firmly._

_“I’ll take that as a yes.”She nodded as tears sprang to her eyes.Steve smiled widely as he slipped the ring onto her finger and tugged her into his strong arms._

_—_

_“How would you react if I told you I want a small wedding?”_

_“How small?”_

_Sharon bit her lip.“Less than ten people?”She watched Steve’s face carefully._

_“I was actually thinking the same thing.”_

_Sharon sighed in relief.“Really?”_

_“I got to thinking the other day.If we invited a lot of people that would mean the whole Avengers team plus more would be at our wedding.And what if something happened?What ifsomeone needed our help?What if our wedding became a target?”_

_Sharon stared at Steve for a long moment before a giggle slipped from her lips.“Come on Steve, what are the odds of that happening?”_

_“Pretty high, especially if Tony makes a scene out of our wedding.”_

_“Nothing is going to happen.”_

_“But what if it did?”_

_“Then we pause the wedding, kick some ass, and pick up where we left off when we’re done saving the world.”Steve huffed and stood from his spot on the couch.“I’m kidding Steve!”She jumped up after him and wrapped her arms around his neck.“Neither of us could live with ourselves if something happened to any of our friends on our wedding day.”She kissed him lightly._

_“I’m sorry.”He sighed as his arms curled around her.“I’m being dramatic.”_

_She kissed him.“Yes, you are.But that’s why I love you.”She brushed a piece of his hair back into place._

_“So where is this small ceremony going to take place?”_

_“Well…”Sharon grabbed her laptop and turned it for Steve to see.“How about you, me, the minister, and our closest friends on the cliffs of Iceland?”_

_“Iceland?”_

_“It’ll be beautiful, small, and discreet.What do you think?”_

_“It looks beautiful.”Sharon smiled widely.“Who are you thinking for guests?”_

_Sharon set her laptop down and grabbed her notebook, flipping through the pages.“My parents, Bucky, Sam, Nat, Wanda, Tony, Pepper, Clint, and Linda.That’s ten guests right there.Am I missing anyone?I figured Thor, Vision, Rhodes, and Bruce wouldn’t be upset if they weren’t invited.And I’m still on the fence about Tony.I love him, but we both know he likes to be the center of attention.”_

_Steve studied her list.“Do you think you’re parents will come?”_

_“Well they like you now so there is a possibility of them gracing us with their presence.”Sharon teased._

_“What if we just did your parents, Buck, Sam, Nat and Wanda?”_

_“I’m okay with that.”Sharon crossed the other names off the list.“You get to tell Tony though.”_

_“Chicken.”_

_Sharon tossed the notebook behind her.“Excuse me?”She planted her hands on her hips._

_“You heard me.”_

_She narrowed her eyes at him.She jumped at him, knocking them both to the ground.She laughed at Steve’s surprised face staring up at her as she straddled him._

_“Take it back, Rogers.”He tried to pull her down to kiss her, but she resisted.“No, you’re not going to seduce me to get out of this.Take it back.”_

_Steve grinned at her.“Fine, I take it back.Now come here.”He pulled her back down to kiss her properly._

_—_

_Steve stood staring out over the ocean off the coast of Iceland.He and Bucky were wearing their old military uniforms upon Steve’s insistence.Minus the hat per Bucky’s insistence.He should have felt nervous, but instead he felt completely at peace._

_“Holy shit.”Bucky whispered to himself.Steve glanced at him.Bucky was staring transfixed behind Steve.He glanced at Steve, a wide smile spread across your face._

_“She’s gorgeous.Turn around.”_

_Steve took a deep breath before turning.His knees felt weak as Sharon walked toward him.She was stunning.Tears prickled at his eyes as a smile overtook his face.She was beaming back at him.Her dress fit her perfectly and her hair was in a loose low updo.He couldn’t believe he was going to marry her._

_“Hey you.”She said softly as she took his arm.“I love you.”_

_He leaned down to whisper in her ear.“I love you more.”_

_“Welcome everyone, we are here today…”_

_—_

_“What do you think?Safari or Alaska theme?”Sharon asked as Steve slipped his arms around her from behind to hold her swelling belly.He kissed the side of her neck._

_“I don’t care, you pick.”_

_She put a hand over his as the baby kicked in her belly.“If we went with safari do you think T’Challa could get us something cool to display in the room?”_

_“Nope, no way!”Sam exclaimed as he stepped into the nursery.“Absolutely not, there is no way your kid is growing up liking Black Panther more than Falcon.”_

_Sharon laughed.“I guess we will go with Alaskan mountains theme.”She pulled away from Steve to sit in the new rocking chair they had purchased._

_“I don’t think our child will like Black Panther more than you.”Steve moved to finish assembling the crib._

_“Damn straight.I’ll be his favorite Uncle.”_

_“Come on, what about me?Uncle Buck could be the favorite.”Bucky asked as he stepped into the room to help._

_“Sorry bro, but Uncle Buck is no one’s favorite.”Sam and Sharon both laughed.“Come on, that was funny.Uncle Buck!”Bucky and Steve gave each other puzzled looks.“Don’t tell me neither of you have seen Uncle Buck?”Sam asked as they shook their heads._

_“Well, I know what movie we are watching tonight after you finish the crib.”Sharon said as she left to cue up the movie._

_—_

_“Steve?”Sharon reached over to find him missing from the bed.She sat up confused as her eyes adjusted to the dark.She peered at the baby monitor to find the crib empty.“Steve?”She slipped out of bed and down the hall to the baby’s room.She quietly peered in to find Steve asleep in the rocking chair with their daughter, Jane, asleep on his chest.Steve’s eyes opened as the baby fussed quietly._

_“Hey you.”She kissed him softly._

_“How long was I out?”He melted into her hand as it combed his hair back into place._

_“I don’t know.”She curled up on the arm of the chair with her two favorite people.“She’s so beautiful.”_

_“Just like her Mom.”Sharon kissed his temple as she gently stroked their daughter’s cheeks.“I can’t believe she’s almost five months old.It feels like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital.”_

_“You were so nervous to bring her home.”_

_“She was so small, I was afraid I’d break her.”He turned to look at wife._

_“You’re perfect with her.”Her lips met his.“She’s settled, let’s go to bed.”They slowly set their daughter back into her crib before heading back to bed._

_—_

_“It’s about damn time those two got married.”Sam muttered as he and his pregnant wife, Rosa, sat down next to Steve at the long reception table._

_“Uncle Sam, language.”Jane said sternly from her spot next to Steve._

_“Yeah Uncle Sam, language.”Tony chimed in across the table.“You know Steve doesn’t like that kind of language.”_

_“I’m never going to live that down.”Steve sighed._

_“Nope, now where’s my Share-bear?”_

_“She’s running around here somewhere with Nat.”_

_“Remind me again how old your little ones are?”Pepper asked as she admired Jane’s coloring from across the table._

_“Jane is six and Carter is two.”_

_“And both are going to be breaking hearts when they get older.”Bucky smiled as he slapped Steve on the shoulder.“Have you seen my new wife?”He slipped into the seat next to Steve._

_“With my wife I assume.”The ceremony and reception were held at Bucky and Natasha’s acreage.Steve, Sam, and Clint had helped Bucky set up the entire backyard with long tables, lights, and a small make shift dance floor for the occasion._

_“How does it feel to finally be a married man?How long were you two dating?7 years?”Sam asked as he took a large bite of cake._

_“Feels great.”He smiled.“There she is.”Steve looked to see Natasha and Sharon chatting as they stood on the large porch.Natasha looked beautiful in simple white dress and her hair in loose curls.Sharon wore a long navy dress that hugged her in all the right places.She chatted happily with Nat while bouncing Carter on her hip.She caught his eye and smiled.She pointed to him as she whispered in Carter’s ear.Carter waved madly and squirmed to be let down.Sharon set him down as Steve slipped out of his chair.He met Carter halfway around the table as he giggled madly._

_—_

Natasha’s phone buzzed once, twice, three times before she finally peeled her eyes open to answer it.She had gotten back from a four day mission in South America that afternoon and had been dead on her feet when she finally made it back to the Avengers Facility and fell into bed. 

“Wilson?It’s three in the morning.What’s going on?”Natasha grumbled.

“It’s Sharon.”The phone slipped out of her hand as she sat up straight in bed.Last she heard, Sharon was on a mission in Ireland.Shock filled Natasha as she realized the implications of why Sam would be contacting her in the middle of the night about her best friend.


	26. Chapter 26

Natasha’s arms clung tightly around herself as harsh sobs wracked her body.She rarely cried and now here she was, sobbing uncontrollably.Sam had called to fill her in on what had happened in Ireland.She had held herself together the first time Sharon had gone missing and was presumed dead.But now, less than a year later, she couldn’t contain the emotion that welled inside her at the thought of losing her best friend.She couldn’t believe this was happening again.But then again she could, because this was Sharon.Loyal, compassionate, tried and true Sharon.Sharon who didn’t second guess risking her life for others.

“Keep blubbering like that and people are going to think I’m dead.”

“Damnit Carter.”Natasha cursed as she vigorously wiped her tears.She scooted her chair closer to Sharon’s hospital bed as Sharon’s eyes fully opened.“Welcome back from the dead.”She pushed the button for the nurse as Sharon’s eyes slipped shut again.“I died, didn’t I?”She mumbled as a frown crossed her face.

“For a few minutes.You scared a lot of people, but we got you back.”

Sharon gave a small smile as her heavy eyes opened again to focus on Natasha.“Lucky 13.”

“Damn lucky.”

“I’m glad you’re here with me this time.”Nat grabbed her hand gently.

“Me too.”She gave it a soft squeeze as the doctor came in.

“You know, when I told you I enjoyed having you as a patient, it didn’t mean for you to find another reason to be my patient again.”

“Doctor Schmidt.”Sharon smiled as her eyes started to slip shut.

“Gabby, I prefer if you just call me Gabby.”Gabby moved to check Sharon’s monitor and IV bags.“Sharon, can you open your eyes for me?”She grumbled something incomprehensible.“She’s still coming out of the meds, I’ll check her out when she’s up again.”Natasha nodded as Gabby marked something on Sharon’s chart and left.

Two hours later and Sharon was up again, this time in a much better state.“How are you feeling?”Nat asked as she moved back into the chair next to Sharon.

“Sore, dizzy, exhausted.”Sharon sighed as she relaxed back into her pillows.

“Do you want to take another nap?”Sharon shook her head as her eyes finally focused on the large array of flowers on the table across the room.“You got a lot of fans.” 

“Where’s Steve?”She noticed two large bouquets of sunflowers on the table.

“He’s in D.C.”

“Where am I?”Sharon looked confused.

“New York.”

“I want to know what happened.”Sharon’s eyes slipped shut.“I’m so confused.So much happened all at once.”Tears started to form in her eyes.“What happened to Richards?Please tell me he’s alive.”Her eyes flew open in a panic.

Natasha squeezed her hand tightly.“Richards is okay, he’s in the room next door.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t think I’m the right person to tell you.I only know what I’ve been told.”Natasha watched as Sharon tried to hold back her emotions.Sharon’s hand came to cover her face as harsh sobs encompassed her.Natasha felt her own emotions rising at watching her best friend break down.

“Hey.”Nat whispered as she quickly grabbed a box of tissues.“I’m here with you.”Tears prickled at her eyes as Sharon took her hand tightly.

“How did I get here Nat?How did I let myself get hurt again?When did I become so weak?”

Nat felt a tear escape at Sharon’s words.“Because you are one of the strongest people I know and one of the kindest people I know.You got here because you are brave and care about saving the ones you love.There is nothing more noble than sacrificing yourself for others and I am in awe at your strength and courage to fight for the ones you love.You are a damn angel and no one sees this as a weakness.Saving people is your strength Sharon Carter.”

Sharon only nodded as tears continued down her cheeks.Nat could see her wanting to ask something, but words were failing her.Sharon’s eyes shifted behind her to the table of flowers.Sharon wanted to ask more about Steve.

“Steve wants to be here, but he had to go to D.C. last night.I called him and he’s headed back as soon as he can.”Sharon’s tears began to subside.Natasha gently wiped both their cheeks.“He stayed with you the entire time once they rescued you.He barely slept he’s been so worried.I promised I wouldn’t leave your side when he got called to D.C.”

“Thank you.” 

Nat smiled.“It’s what best friends do.Now, I think you should try to get some rest.”

—

_“Did you miss me?I missed you Carter.I was mad when you didn’t say hi to me in that diner.”Rumlow laughed.“Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you?”_

_—_

_Pain exploded in her chest suddenly causing her to sink to her knees.She shakily brought a hand to her chest to find it covered in blood.The world went silent as she looked up at Richards.She’d been hit.He was still firing behind her as he yelled.Sharon watched as he took a bullet to the shoulder, knocking him off his feet._

_—_

_“Get up and fight me.I want to see how easy it is to beat one of S.H.I.E.L.D.S. top agents to death.The famous Sharon Carter!”_

_—_

_“Just put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”Steve tried to rationalize._

_“No.Tell your bird man to turn this chopper around and take me back to shore and no one gets hurt.”Rumlow stood strong with the shield, his gun steady.Sharon clicked the safety off her gun in warning.Rumlow shifted the gun to point at her and Steve shifted to block her as he raised his hands._

_—_

_“Sharon, hang on!”_

_“Cap!”She shouted up at him._

_“Hang on!”_

_“Steve!”HIs eyes met hers._

_“Sharon no!”He immediately knew what she was thinking.Rumlow was furiously yelling at her from below, but she didn’t hear him._

_“I’m sorry.”_

_“I can pull you up!Hang on!”She could see him straining against their dead weight._

_“Steve!”He met her eyes again.She could see the defeat in his eyes.She could see his heart breaking.He knew what she had to do._

_“I love you.”She let go._

_—_

_It felt like hitting cement as her body crashed into the ocean.Her body stiffened against the cold as she tried to claw her way to the surface.She couldn’t breathe._

_“Sharon!”Steve’s panicked face was before her.She reached for him, but he was too far away.Water filled her lungs, suffocating her.Her hand came to her throat as she choked.Images of what her future could have been flashed before her eyes:Steve.Love.Weddings.Babies.Her body convulsed and thrashed until she finally slipped away._

“Sharon, I need you to relax and breathe.”Sharon startled awake to a mess of lights, alarms, and hands.Someone was shoving an oxygen mask over her nose.“Breathe Sharon.”

“Heart-rate is still fast.”

“Doctor-“

  
“Give her a second.”Doctor Schmidt’s face was suddenly in front of her.“Sharon I need you to calm down or I’m going to have to sedate you.Breathe with me.”Gabby took a visibly large breath.Her hands came to either side of Sharon’s face.“Focus on me.”She took another deep breath.Sharon took in a shaky breath with her.

“That’s it.Breathe with me.You’re safe with me.”Sharon didn’t realize she had been crying until Gabby started wiping her tears as they breathed together.

“Heart rate is going back to normal.”

“You’re doing great.I’m going to remove your oxygen mask, but I want you to keep taking deep breaths.”Sharon nodded as Gabby slowly took the mask off her face.“It was just a bad dream.Can you tell me your name?”She shined a small light into Sharon’s eyes.

“Sharon.”Her voice was hoarse.

“Good and who am I?”

“Gabby.”

“Perfect.Few more deep breaths.”Sharon’s world started to clear.She realized Gabby was sitting on the edge of her bed, blocking her vision from everything else in the room.

“I’m okay.”Sharon finally sighed as her eyes slipped shut with her last few deep breaths.“Thank you.”She shakily reached for her water, but Gabby beat her to it and shoved it into her hands.

“Grab a juice for Ms. Carter.”She said to someone behind her. 

“I’m sorry.”Sharon murmured as she finally relaxed back into her pillows.

“Don’t be.”Gabby wiped the sweat from Sharon’s brow.“I’m sorry to say you may experience nightmares for while, but hopefully they won’t send you into such a panic going forward.It’s a CIA requirement to see a therapist once you are released, but I’m going to recommend you to someone who specializes in PTSD.”

“I understand.”

“Good.Now when you’re ready, there’s a very anxious Captain waiting outside.”She smiled widely as she got up from the bed and handed Sharon a small carton of apple juice.“Drink that and I’ll go get him.”She winked.

 


	27. Chapter 27

Nervous anxiety settled in Sharon’s stomach as she heard the door open and Steve’s voice float in from the hall.She wiped her eyes and smoothed her hair self consciously.The door clicked and suddenly Steve was there, looking as nervous as she felt. 

“Hi.”

“Hi.”Her eyes never left his as he moved to sit down on the side of her bed.His hand tentatively came to her cheek causing her eyes to slip shut at his soft touch.“I’m sorry, for everything.”Her eyes met his.“For not telling you about Bucky, for-“

He shook his head as he cut her off, “It doesn’t matter anymore.Nothing matters except that you are safe.”His lips gently met hers as he cupped her face.“I don’t care about anything but you.”

Her eyes felt hot with tears.“I love you.” 

A watery smile broke out over Steve’s face.“I love you too.”He kissed her more firmly.“I should have told you a long time ago.I never should have ended things-” 

Sharon put a soft hand to his lips.“Let’s not talk about that now.I just want to be here with you.”She shifted to let him lay down in the bed next to her.He held her as she broke down in his arms and cried herself to sleep.Dr. Schmidt had warned him that she could be emotional the next few days as she came off her medications and the stress of what happened to her began to seep in.He didn’t care though, he was going to be here with her.Through the tears and nightmares, he wasn’t leaving her side.

Sharon slept through the night and woke early the next morning in a brighter mood.Steve stayed with her through the night, only leaving her side when the nurse grumbled about him being in the bed.Once she had left, he slipped back in to hold Sharon.

He excused himself briefly in the morning when Dr. Schmidt came by to examine Sharon and set a schedule with the physical therapist before a nurse helped her bathe.He grabbed breakfast for himself before calling a list of people to give an update on Sharon.He had a hard time getting Sharon’s mother off the phone once she started rambling about coming up to visit. 

When he returned to Sharon’s room she was sitting up and looked more refreshed than before.Her face was still bruised, but looking healthier.She grumbled as she adjusted the strap of her arm sling. 

He relaxed into the chair next to her.“Steve, I want to know what happened.How am I here?Why were you called to D.C.?”

Nat had warned him that Sharon would be asking.“How much do you remember?”

“I remember falling out of the helicopter and letting myself go, but nothing after that.”

“Do you remember how we found you at the warehouse?”

Sharon’s brow furrowed.“I remember you saying Bucky knew I was in trouble.”

“He called Sam and I on your burner phone.He tracked you to Ireland and realized Rumlow was setting you up.He didn’t want to get involved and run the risk of being sighted.He called us, but things went south before we got there.”

“He was the sniper.” 

Steve nodded. “Sam and I had just pulled up with military back up when the shooting started.”

“What happened after I fell?”

“We made it back to the ship and Bucky was detained.Sam was in a chopper getting ready to go back out and find you when you were brought in.”

“How?”Steve stood up and moved to the table of flowers.Sharon watched him as he grabbed something small from her bag of personal items they pulled from her body when brought in.He set it down in front of her.“Tony.”It was the patch he had given her at Aunt Peggy’s funeral.She wore it for every mission.

“We have a briefcase from Stark that goes on every mission with us that carries an automated suit.Tony told us it won’t open unless triggered and he takes control, but we still take it every time.Your patch activated it.”

“It sends out an emergency signal if my heart rate gets too low.”Sharon gave a small smile.Tony knew what he was doing when he gave her that.

“Tony remotely took control of the suit and found you through the GPS tracker.The suit got you back to the ship where the medics revived you.”Sharon’s fingers entwined with his.“Tony said we were lucky.The signal must have gone off sometime before the helicopter tipped.You were in the water only a minute or two before he found you.”Steve sighed.“I don’t know how we missed the suit passing us to save you.I couldn’t believe my eyes when I heard Tony’s voice yelling and you were there in his arms.”

Sharon’s hand came to his cheek as he looked down at their joined hands.“Hey.”She whispered.

“I thought I lost you.I did lose you, you weren’t breathing when you arrived at the ship.”He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.“After they revived you they put you and Richards on a jet to New York.I went with you while Sam stayed with Bucky.”

“What happened to Bucky?”

“The military detained him on the ship, but he’s going to get released into Avenger custody in a few weeks.”

“How?”

“The ground team didn’t find your target at the site so they went to his house and found him dead.Rumlow must have missed a bug your team planted because they got everything on camera.Rumlow and his team are the ones who have been targeting HYDRA and framing Bucky.”Steve gave a small smile.“It was enough evidence to clear Bucky’s name.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“He’s still responsible for his time with HYDRA, but the military and CIA have agreed to release him into our custody after a full psychiatric evaluation, court mandated therapy and probation.Rhodes agreed to take full responsibility of his recovery.That’s why I was in D.C.They asked me to be at the evaluation in case something was triggered in Bucky.”

“How did it go?”

Steve sighed.“It was rough, but I think he’ll be okay.He told me about how you helped him, sent him to your safe house, and tried to get him to reach out to me.” 

Sharon gave a small smile.“I didn’t know how to tell you and with our fight I didn’t think you would want to hear from me.”

“Sam told me everything.I was wrong to get so mad at you.I should have talked to you about Bucky a long time ago.I don’t blame you for being scared to tell me.”

“No, I should have told you that he was a potential target for my team.I was a coward for keeping it from you.”

Steve shook his head.“Whether you told me on our first date or when you did, I think I would have been mad either way.And if you had told me right away, who knows if we would have ended up together and quite honestly, I can’t fathom the thought of not being with you.” 

"We both made mistakes, I just want to put them behind us and move forward."She kissed him.

Steve went on to tell Sharon about the extensive rant Tony gave to Steve and Sam for letting Sharon get to the brink of death.How Sam went back to the bed and breakfast and recovered all the belongings of her team.The uncomfortable phone call he had with Sharon’s mother to which she cried into the phone for ten minutes before she pulled herself together long enough to ask where she can visit.He updated her that Richards was recovering nicely next door and eager to see her when she’s ready.The CIA was helping with Dave’s funeral arrangements and that Sharon was unfortunately going to miss the funeral since she was hospital-bound for at least another week.By the end of it all, Sharon was exhausted.Steve tucked her in with a promise to be there when she woke up.

—

Two days later Sharon said goodbye to Richards as he was released to go home.He sat in her room for a long time as they laughed and cried before he was wheeled off much to his dismay.Sharon’s parents finally visited causing her mother to give her another lecture about why Sharon should quit her job.She sighed in relief when they finally left after four hours.

Over the next week Sharon was visited by Sam, Natasha, Clint, Tony, and even Thor.She welcomed any company she could get as she was restless to get out of the hospital and go home.Steve visited every day and made sure to be there when Gabby visited in the mornings to get reports on Sharon’s health.She nearly jumped for joy when Gabby said she could go home.

Sharon didn’t realize how much she had missed her small apartment until Steve was helping her through the door.It felt like heaven to sink into the soft cushions of her couch.Steve set her bags down near the washer and dryer before sitting down next to her.She entwined her hand with his.

“It feels so good to be home.You’re going to stay with me tonight, right?”

“Of course.If you aren’t sick of me, I was hoping to stay for a few weeks.”

“I’d like that.”They fell into comfortable silence until Sharon felt Steve’s eyes burning a hole in the side of her head.

“I can hear you thinking.What’s on your mind?”She didn’t even have to peek an eye to know he wanted to say something.

“I know we have a lot still to talk about, but I was wondering if you want to be my girlfriend again?”

Sharon gave a small laugh.“Do you think it’s because you’re old that you sound so corny all the time?”

“Just answer the question.”Steve huffed before a smile slipped across his lips.

“Yes.”


	28. Chapter 28

After a long month of recovery Sharon was back to work on desk duty only.She was still meeting regularly with her therapist to work through her occasional nightmares and bouts of PTSD.Richards was fully back to work and also back to his usual sarcastic self.He had taken over Sharon’s team and was clearing up loose ends.Their boss finally ordered for all their known Hydra agents to be brought in immediately.

Things with Steve were going great again.The pair had spent a long time talking through their break up, Bucky, and moving forward with their relationship.This time they were making a point to stay open and honest.Steve was back to Avenging and spending lots of time at the Avengers Facility now that Bucky was released and staying on the compound.Steve kept offering for Sharon to move in with him, but she wasn’t quite ready to leave her apartment yet. 

Sharon visited the compound often.She visited Bucky first chance she could after he was released in order to thank him.He smiled at her and let her hug him awkwardly.He was slowly learning to adjust to his new home and all the new people.Wanda and Vision made a point to give Bucky his space while Natasha seemed to do the opposite.Sharon caught her and Bucky speaking in Russian one day and teased her endlessly.

“No meddling.”Natasha warned Sharon as they lightly sparred at the compound.

“Oh I’m meddling.You meddled in my life, I’m going to meddle in yours.”

When Sharon finally got cleared to go back into the field after another month of therapy, Steve insisted on celebrating.He surprised her with a long weekend in North Carolina at a small beach house he rented.He knew her recovery had been long and taken more of an emotional toll than the last time.She had doubted if she would ever be cleared to go back to work.She was offered multiple times to work with the Avengers, but she always politely declined. 

“So damn humble.”Clint would say with a smile with every refusal.Steve always seemed confused as to why she would decline working with the Avengers when he knew she wasn’t happy at the CIA.It wasn’t until they reached the beach house that Sharon surprised him.“I quit the CIA.”She blurted before Steve had set their bags down.

“What?But you just got cleared for duty.”

“I know.”She had a large smile on her face. 

“I don’t understand.Did you finally accept an offer to join the Avengers?”

“Not quite.”He dumped the bags on the floor as his hands came to his hips.

“I’m not following.”

“Coulson called.S.H.I.E.L.D. is rebuilding.He has been secretly working with Fury to build a job for me.I’ll be working for S.H.I.E.L.D. as their Avenger Consultant and Liaison.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Basically, I’ll be moving into the Avengers compound and working as a liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.So if anything comes up that we think is too small for the Avengers, I’ll head a S.H.I.E.L.D. team and if anything comes along that is bigger than S.H.I.E.LD. I’ll bring it to the Avengers to take care of.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?”

“Well it all happened so fast and you surprised me with this vacation, I didn’t want to say anything until it was set in stone.Coulson called early this morning before you picked me up.”

“That’s fantastic Sharon!”He hugged her tightly.“Does this mean you are finally going to take me up on my offer of moving in together?”

She rolled her eyes, “I suppose it does.”

They spent the rest of the day exploring the local town and enjoying the beautiful weather.The following day they spent mostly on the beach before grabbing dinner at a local seafood restaurant.They ended the evening on the porch as they looked out over the ocean.

“Steve?”

“Hmm?”His eyes were closed.

“I need to tell you something.”She suddenly felt nervous.

“Oh great, more surprises.”He smirked as he peeked an eye to look at her.His smirk slowly slipped from his lips at the nervous look in Sharon’s eye.She was rarely nervous, she was always cool and confident.

“I don’t know if it was a dream or something else, but some time after I fell from the helicopter and before I woke up in the hospital, I saw something.Something I can’t quite explain.”

“What did you see?”

“I’ve wanted to tell you about it for some time now, but I was nervous since we had just gotten back together. But I saw us.”He shifted to look at her fully.“I saw our life together.You proposed and we got married.”Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember the details.They had been fading from her memory for some time now.“We had a little girl and then a little boy.We were so happy.”

“It sounds beautiful.”

“It was.Working as a spy, I always doubted that my future would involve a family, but after what I saw, I have no more doubts.I know we haven’t talked much about the future yet, but I saw our future and I want that life with you.You said that day at the Bartons that you didn’t think you could have that life anymore, but I saw it.And it was perfect.We were perfect. I know we joked about raising chickens together, but I just need to know that you actually want that life someday.Otherwise… I don’t think I can be with you anymore.Not after seeing what we can be.”She searched his eyes desperately as she bared her feelings to him. 

He sat up and before Sharon could doubt herself he was on one knee before her.“Marry me.”

“Steve.”He held his hand out to her.She turned his hand downward and covered it with hers.“I’m not asking for a proposal.I don’t want you to propose because you feel obligated with what I said.”

Steve gave a small smile.“Sharon, I don’t feel obligated.I want to.”He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out a ring.He turned their joined hands back over and pressed it into her palm.“Marry me.”

She stared at the simple diamond ring in her palm.“I love you Sharon.I was stupid to let you go the first time.And when I thought I had lost you for good in Ireland, all I could think about was how I never got to tell you how I felt.I love you and if you’ll have me, I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy whether chickens are involved or not.”Sharon laughed.“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.Yes!”He slipped the ring delicately on her finger before lifting her into his arms.“Were you planning on proposing this whole time?”She asked breathlessly.

“Not at all.”He smiled wider.

“What?”

He kissed her confused lips.“I bought the ring shortly after Ireland.I wanted to have it ready for when the time was right.”

“Steve.”Her hands came to cup his face.

“After everything you said, it just felt right to do it now.”He kissed her softly.

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”


	29. Epilogue

Three years later…

 

“Okay, if I can have everyone’s attention!”Sharon clinked her glass until all eyes were on her.“First, I want to say thank you to Clint and Linda for hosting us tonight.This is absolutely beautiful.”Sharon looked out over the yard which was strung with lights and a long table. 

“Bucky and Nat, I know neither of you are sentimental so all I’m going to say is congrats on the engagement.May your days be filled with stressful wedding planning and arguments over the guest list.”The small crowd of guests laughed.Sharon watched as Bucky kissed Nat’s temple. 

“Cheers!”Sharon winked at Nat as she took a sip of her drink. 

“How’s that water tasting?”Sam joked as she clinked glasses with him.

“Like resentment.”Sam laughed at her snarky remark.

“I already have a bottle of champagne packed to pop open at the hospital on the big day.”Steve laughed as his arms wrapped around Sharon and came to rest on her very pregnant stomach.“How are you doing?”He whispered in her ear.

“Still having random contractions.”Sharon grumbled as another one came over her.She leaned back into Steve as her hands covered his.

“You are so beautiful.”He kissed her neck.

“I’m so pregnant.”

“Pregnant and beautiful.”

“Steve come help me with this real quick!”Bucky shouted from the lawn.Steve kissed Sharon one last time before letting her go.

“I’ll be back.”

“It’s fine, I have to go to the bathroom again any way.”She sighed as she waddled her way into the house.After relieving herself she beelined for Linda in the living room.

“Linda, I just want to say thank you again for this.Everything is so beautiful.”

“Anything for Natasha and Bucky.Nat is family around this house, it’s great to see her so happy.”

Sharon’s eyes went wide as a sudden sensation of water running down her legs came over her.She looked down at her wet feet.“Oh my God.”

“CLINT!”Linda suddenly yelled.

“Your rug, Linda, I’m so sorry!”She held her stomach.

“Honey, I found another two cases of beer in the basement.”Clint said as he held them up for them to see.

“Put them down and grab a towel, Sharon’s water just broke.”Linda snapped as she steered Sharon from the puddle she was standing in.“I’ll go get Steve.”

“I’m so sorry Clint!”Sharon said as he grabbed a towel to clean up the mess on the rug.

“Honestly, you’re doing us a favor.My mother gave us this rug and we hate it.”He winked at her.

“Please let me help you.”She cringed as a contraction overtook her body.

“Breathe.”He was in front of her.“Big breaths.You just relax, this isn’t the first time I’ve cleaned up someone’s broken water in this house.”Sharon gave a small laugh.

“Sharon!”Steve crossed the room in three large steps.His hands came to her face.“I’m going to get the car.Breathe.”She nodded as her emotions suddenly bubbled up.

“We’re going to be parents.”She smiled at him.“I love you.”

“I love you more.”He kissed her.

“What’s going on in here?”Bucky and Natasha were in the doorway.

“Sharon’s water broke.”Linda exclaimed excitedly.

“I’m going to get the car.Buck, help Sharon out to the car?”He nodded as Steve ran out the door.

“Ready to be an uncle?”Sharon joked as Bucky’s arm wrapped around her waist and guided her gently out the door.She held his hand tightly as he helped her down the porch steps.

“Absolutely.Are you ready to be a mom?”He smiled widely at her as they passed the cheering party.

“Absolutely.”She grinned back as Steve pulled the car around, kicking up dust as she screeched to a halt.

Nat’s arms were suddenly around her.“Keep us updated.We’ll see you soon.” 

“I will.”Sharon smiled at her best friend as Bucky helped her into the car.“Congrats, I’m so sorry we are stealing your day.”

“Are you kidding me?This is great.”Nat beamed as her hand slipped into Bucky’s.“You know we hate having all this attention on us.Drive safe Dad.”Steve beamed from the drivers seat.Nat shut the door and waved as Steve’s car drove off.

“Well… want to follow them to the hospital?”Bucky smiled down at Natasha.

“NO!”Linda yelled.“Absolutely not!Labor can take hours and I spent all day in the kitchen preparing for tonight.No one is going to the hospital until we’ve all had dinner and dessert.”Everyone stood stunned at her outburst except for Clint who looked as if he couldn’t love her more.She looked at everyone furiously.“Well get your damn plates and let’s get this dinner line rolling.”Everyone complied.

“She scares me.”Bucky mumbled as Natasha led him back to the party.

—

“She’s beautiful.”

“Just like her mother.”Steve kissed Sharon on the forehead as they stared down at their baby girl.“You did so great.”

“I hear you have quite the entourage waiting upstairs for you two.”The nurse smiled as she sat at the computer, putting in the new information.“Give me five minutes and we’ll be ready to move you three up to your room.”

“Did you text them and tell them we had a girl?”Sharon couldn’t take her eyes off their little girl.

“No, I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Natasha’s going to be happy, everyone bet against her that it was a boy.”

“Yeah, but she’ll be disappointed when we tell her we aren’t naming the baby Natasha.”Steve smiled.

“Do you have a name yet?”The nurse asked.

“Jane Marie.” She looked back at the nurse.“We wanted something classic.”She winked at Steve.

Twenty minutes later Sharon and Steve were in their private (and secure) suite.Sharon shooed Steve out the door to go tell their friends the good news while the nurses settled her into the room.

Steve burst into the private waiting room to a crowd of their closest friends.They jumped at the sight of him.“It’s a girl.”The room erupted in cheers and applause as they stormed Steve.Natasha jumped into his arms first as Bucky clapped him on the back. They anxiously followed Steve back to Sharon’s room.They popped the champagne and celebrated.

Steve and Sharon finally found themselves alone with their new baby girl after hours of cheers and congratulations.They laid quietly in the large hospital bed, Sharon curled into Steve as he held Jane in his arms.Sharon’s eyes were heavy, but she couldn’t stop admiring the baby they had created.

“I’m so tired, but I can’t stop staring at her.She’s perfect.”Sharon whispered as she brushed a finger over Jane’s soft cheek.

“She really is.” He kissed Sharon’s forehead.“Get some sleep, we’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Sharon snuggled further into him.“I love you Steve.”

“I love more Sharon.”

-End-

**Author's Note:  The last few chapters have been a little cheesy and fluffy, but after the intensity of the rest of the story, Steve and Sharon need a happy ending.  Thank you for reading and coming on this journey.**


End file.
